The Jere Beasely Report, Mar. 2011

March 2011
Distributed to over 53,000 subscribers each month

www.BeasleyAllen.com
I.
CAPITOL
OBSERVATIONS
Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey To Lead Study
Commission
Gov. Robert Bentley has named Lt. Gov.
Kay Ivey to head the new state commission that we wrote about last month. T
he
commissions task will be to find ways to
make government more efficient and
effective. In my opinion, this was a very
good move on the Governors part. Kay is
a hard worker, and having served as Treasurer, she is fully aware of how state government has been run in the past. It
appears the states two top officials have
a good relationship and that is good news
for all Alabamians. Its critically important
that the Governor and Lt. Governor work
in harmony. This appointment is a good
beginning!
Alabama Governor Acts To Prevent

Foreclosures
Gov. Robert Bentley and the Alabama
Housing Finance Authority have developed a program designed to help unemployed homeowners prevent home
foreclosures. The Governor announced
the details of the program on February
2nd in Montgomery. The new program is
possible because the Alabama Housing
Finance Authority was allocated $162
million in federal funds to help unemployed or underemployed homeowners
with temporary assistance to avoid foreclosure. Alabamas portion is part of $2
billion in federal funding that is allocated
for states with the highest unemployment rates. Hopefully, this program will
help Alabama citizens who need help to
keep their homes.
will keep him very busy over the next

few months. One of his best moves thus
far was to bring Richard Allen back to the
Attorney Generals office as Chief Deputy
Attorney General. Richard, who ran the
office under Bill Pyror, is most capable
and knows exactly how state government
is supposed to work. He will definitely be
an asset to the new Attorney General.
Luther, who has taken the lead in the
states lawsuit against BP and other
Defendants, was appointed by Judge Carl
Barbier to a key position in the MDL litigation. Filing suit against the wrongdoers
last year was a good thing for Alabama
and thats quite evident now. While it definitely has put Alabama in a very good
position, nobody should believe that BP
will roll over and play dead. T his
company is not only powerful politically,
but it has the ability to spend whatever it
takes in litigation to protest its
turf. Alabama must be able to take its case
to a courtroom if necessary. Fortunately
for Alabama citizens, Gov. Riley wasnt
able to settle the case under the terms he
proposed and which were most favorable
to BP. Had the case settled at that time,
under those terms and conditions, our
states interest would not have been well
served. In fact it would have been a major
victory for BP and all of the wrongdoers
and a tremendous loss for Alabama.
John McMillan Takes Over As

Commissioner
Once he was sworn in, Attorney

General Luther Strange hit the ground
running and so far he hasnt slowed
down. Luther has made some moves that
My long-time friend John McMillan, the

new Commissioner of Agriculture and
Industries, is no stranger to public
service. John served as a County Commissioner in Baldwin County, having been
appointed by Gov. Albert Brewer in 1969.
He was later elected to the House of Representatives from his home county of
Baldwin in 1974 and was reelected in
1978. John was then appointed as Commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources by Gov. Fob
James in 1980. Since 1985, John has
served as head of the Alabama Forestry
Association. He brings this vast experience into his new position and I believe
it will serve him well. John fully understands the challenges he faces, as well as
the opportunities, in his new job. I am
Source: Associated Press
The New Attorney General Hits The

Ground Running
confident John will do an outstanding job

as Commissioner.
An Update On The Regional Water Wars

Its encouraging to know that Gov.
Robert Bentley will meet personally with
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal to try and find
an end to a 20-year legal battle over water
rights in both states. It appears that Gov.
Deal, who is new on the job, shares our
Governors desire to reach an agreement
on water. Gov. Bentleys statement that he
is anxious to jump-start talks has been
well received in Georgia. While this
I N TH I S I S S U E
I.
Capitol Observations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
II.
A Report on the Gulf Coast Disaster. . . . . 3
III.
Drug Manufacturers Fraud Litigation. . . . 8
IV.
Purely Political News & Views . . . . . . . . . . 9
V.
Legislative Happenings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
VI.
Court Watch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
VII. The National Scene. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

VIII. The Corporate World. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
IX.
Toyota Litigation Update . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
X.
Product Liability Update . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
XI.
Mass Torts Update. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
XII. Business Litigation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

XIII. Predatory Lending. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
XIV. Premises Liability Update. . . . . . . . . . . . 21
XV.
Workplace Hazards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
XVI. Transportation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
XVII. Healthcare Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
XVIII. Environmental Concerns. . . . . . . . . . . . 24
XIX. The Consumer Corner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
XX.
Recalls Update. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
XXI. Firm Activities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

XXII. Special Recognitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
XXIII. Favorite Bible Verses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
XXIV. Closing Observations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
XXV. Parting Words. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
problem will be a tough nut to crack, it

should be settled if at all possible. It has
been in court for a very long time and it
doesnt appear that a great deal of progress has been made.
Gov. Bentley has said that if Georgia
continues taking water from the federal
reservoirsand takes more from new
reservoirsit will worsen conditions for
downstream communities. He is absolutely correct on that point. Georgia,
Alabama and Florida have been in a legal
battle over the regions water rights for
the past two decades and thats sort of
hard to understand or to justify. Its time
for this matter to be resolved. In any
event, its good that Gov. Bentley sees the
need for immediate action on this very
important issue that affects our state. His
responsibility is to work this out, but at
the same time protect Alabamas interest.
Some Interesting Facts Relating To

Appointed Boards In Alabama
Phil Rawls with the Associated Press
wrote an interesting piece last month
concerning the makeup of the boards
and commissions that set policies for
state government. It appears nothing
changed concerning the make-up of
these boards and commissions over the
past eight years. T hey are no more
diverse now than they were eight years
ago. White men dominate, even though a
quarter of Alabamas residents are black
and more than half are women. Thats not
good for our state. The report by Examiners of Public Accounts on this subject is
worth reviewing. T he seats on state
boards and commissions held by women
amounted to 25.4% at the end of the
Riley Administration.
In 2003, African-Americans filled 14.6%
of the seats. The percentage went up only
slightly to 15.0% near the end of Rileys
term. At that time, white men held 62.7%
of the 2,602 positions that existed. T
hose
statistics are a long way from reflecting
the states population. Its pretty evident
that we need more diversity in state government appointments. I believe that
would be good for our state.
The Governor makes the largest
number of appointments to state boards
and commissions, but a variety of state

officials, including the Lieutenant Governor and speaker of the House, also
make appointments. I am convinced
that Gov. Robert Bentley will be sensitive to diversity.
II.
A REPORT ON
THE GULF COAST
DISASTER
Electronic Bingo Machines Leaving

Alabama
The three major gaming equipment
companies have reached an agreement
with Attorney General Luther Strange to
pull their electronic bingo machines out
of Alabama. T
his was a major accomplishment and one that may signal the end of
the bingo controversy that has been such
a hot topic in Alabama over the past
several years. T
he agreement, which does
not apply to the three Creek Indian
casinos in the state, is a blow both to
dormant casinos in Alabama and to any
persons or entities who might want to
resume electronic bingo in our state.
The three major manufacturers of gambling machinesInternational Gaming
Technology, Bally Technologies and Multimedia Gamesall signed agreements
with the Attorney General last month to
remove their machines from the state
within 60 days. I understand that most of
the bingo machines played in the state
are owned by those gaming companies
and leased to casino owners for a share
of the revenue. Additionally, two other
companiesCadillac Jack and Hest Technologyhad previously removed their
machines from the state. Under the agreement, the gaming companies didnt
concede they did anything illegal in
Alabama, but their machines are no
longer available for use in the state.
Source: al.com
An Expanded Report From The White

House Commission
The White House oil spill commission
has released an expanded report on the
causes of the BP drilling disaster. According to the report, BP had workers on the
doomed Deepwater Horizon rig who
could have prevented the missteps that
led to the massive Gulf of Mexico oil
spill, but they were not consulted, The
commission released new details on February 17 th about the events that preceded the BP accident. The commissions
investigators said BP workers failed to
ask a knowledgeable company engineer
who was visiting the rig about unexpected results from a critical negative
pressure test on the rig. If anyone had
consulted him or any other shore-based
engineer, the blowout might never have
happened, the commission said in a
statement.
The commission believes the misreading of that pressure test and the decision
to move ahead with temporary abandonment of BPs Macondo well was a major
catalyst for the rig explosion that eventually spilled millions of barrels of oil into
the Gulf of Mexico. Had BPs well site
leaders brought their faulty explanation
of the test results to one of the visiting
engineers, events likely would have
turned out differently, the commission
report said. The engineers visiting the rig
that day later questioned the crews interpretation of the test results. BP onshore
officials said they would have insisted on
further testing, had they been consulted. The commissions chief counsel,
Fred Bartlit, said in a statement:
The sad fact is that this was an
entirely preventable disaster. Poor
decisions by management were the
real cause.
Created by President Barack Obama
during the BP oil spill, the commission
released its major findings and recommendations in January. T he expanded
www.JereBeasleyReport.com
report on the causes of the accident does

not change any of the commissions previous conclusions, but is meant to
provide the public with the fullest possible account of the accident, the commission said.
Other new details released in the
report include the finding that BP knew
that there were issues with Halliburton
and its work years before the accident. The commission previously criticized Halliburtons cement job on the
rig, saying the company may have completed the job before knowing its
cement formula was stable. This latest
report said BPs engineers had problems
with the Halliburton engineer assigned
to the Macondo well for years, but they
still did not review his work carefully. In
addition, the flow of oil and gas that led
to the explosion almost certainly came
through an area of the well where Halliburtons cement should have blocked
the flow.
An interesting finding was that flaws in
the blowout preventer were not the root
cause of the explosion. Several have criticized the commissions findings on this
part of the report because the panel
never examined the blowout preventer.
But the report said the rig crew didnt
activate the blowout preventer until
hydrocarbons had already flowed by it. I
will withhold judgment on this issue
until we have completed discovery in the
cases filed. Also, Transocean Ltd, which
owned and operated the Deepwater
Horizon rig, was accused in the report of
missing several signs that hydrocarbons
were in the riser pipe of the rig prior to
the blowout. I firmly believe Transocean
will be at fault and partially responsible
for the incident.
There is a great deal yet to be learned
through discovery in the MDL concerning the activities of the companies in
order to adequately assess blame. But we
have seen enough already to know that
BP and perhaps others were guilty of
much more than simple negligence. Its
clear that the conduct of BP is well
beyond gross negligence.
Source: Insurance Journal
Judge Finds Ken Feinberg Tied To BP

In a very important ruling, Judge Carl
Barbier has found that Ken Feinberg, who
as we all know is the administrator of
BPs claims facility, is not the independent
claims man that he has decalred himself
to be. Under the judges order, BP must
refrain from calling Feinberg neutral.
Instead, BP must disclose in all communications that the Gulf Coast Claims Facility
(GCCF) and Feinberg, as its administrator,
are acting on behalf of BP in fulfilling the
oil companys legal obligations under the
Oil Pollution Act.
Fishermen, boat-owners, tour-boat
operators, hotel owners, business owners,
and others who lost their livelihoods
stemming from last years Gulf oil spill
believed that Feinberg was an independent claims man. They now realize that
this man was far from independent. We
knew that he wasnt from the beginning
and now a judge agrees with us. Because
Feinberg is paid by BP, theres a built-in
conflict of interest that stacks the entire
claims process against the folks who are
seeking redress. Judge Barbier ordered
Feinberg to make his relationship with
BP transparent in all of his communications involving claims.
So far, about 87,000 individuals and
businesses have accepted a settlement of
their claims. Each one of those settlements comes with an agreement not to
sue BP and other wrongdoers. Judge
Barbier ruled that BP must tell Claimants
they have the right to consult a lawyer
and to explain that Claimants have the
right to join the hundreds of pending
lawsuits if they do not accept a final settlement. The judge also said the court
may take action to cure previous miscommunication b y Feinberg and the
GCCF. This could result in the settlements
being re-examined.
This is a very good ruling by Judge
Barbier and one that will protect persons
and businesses who have been injured
and damaged by the oil spill. Lawyers in
our firm who have been working on the
BP litigation know from experience that
Feinberg has misled folks in a number of
ways relating to his role and their rights.
Hopefully, things now will change and for
the better.
The Deadline To File Claims Must Be

Followed
As we have previously reported, the
vast majority of lawsuits which have been
filed against BP and the other wrongdoers involved in the Deepwater Horizon
incident and resulting oil spill, have been
consolidated in the MDL in federal court
in Louisiana. If persons and entities
having claims against these wrongdoers
have not asserted their claims by April 20,
2011, some or all of their claims may be
forever barred. It should be noted that
filing a claim with the Gulf Coast Claims
Facility does not constitute filing a claim
in this court action. The federal court has
allowed the joinder in this action, i.e., the
filing of a claim, by way of a short form,
which is available on the courts website
at http://www.laed.uscourts.gov/OilSpill/
Forms/Forms.html. This website also has
other information which may provide the
answer to any questions that Claimants
may have. Of course, individuals or businesses that have suffered a loss or been
damaged should consult a lawyer of their
choice to make sure their rights are protected.
Federal Officials Say Oil Spill Fines

Must Go To Gulf Coast
Top federal officials have urged Congress to send billions of dollars in fines,
anticipated as a result of the massive Gulf
oil spill, to the Gulf Coast states impacted
by the disaster. Even though a number of
lawmakers have said they favor authorizing such use of Clean Water Act fines, no
action has yet been taken in either the
House or Senate. As a result, the money
remains headed toward a fund that
finances future oil spill cleanups. Jane
Lubchenco, administrator of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
had this to say:
It is important for Congress to act
to divert Clean Water Act penalties
associated with the spill to dedicated funds to support restoration
and recovery in the Gulf.
The Clean Water Act fine money could
total between $5.4 billion and $21.1
billion. Billions more could come from
the separate Natural Resource Damage

Assessment, which is examining the
spills environmental impact. BP PLC and
the spills other responsible parties must
foot the bill for both of those programs.
Its evident that funding is critical to
the recovery effort. Melody Barnes, head
of the White Houses domestic policy
arm, has also called on Congress to send
the money from fines to the Gulf. It
appears that President Obama remains
committed to that cause. Some Gulf officials, especially those in Alabama, have
expressed concern that economic recovery efforts may be ignored in favor of
environmental recovery. BP and the
others responsible for the oil spill must
be held fully accountable in all aspects of
the recovery.
The Gulf Coast Claims Facility Has

Failed Gulf Coast Residents
Ken Feinberg continues to fail Gulf
Coast residents in administering the Gulf
Coast Claims Facility (GCCF). Feinberg
continues to over-promise and underdeliver in his dealings with individuals
and businesses in the coastal states. In the
previous interim emergency claims
period, the GCCF paid only 168,000 of
the 466,000 claims filed as of December.
Even more disappointing was the method
by which Feinberg denied claims. After
the Department of Justice expressed
concern in November over the tremendous backlog of claims in the GCCF, Feinberg denied 100,000 claims in a ten-day
period. Many of these claims were stale
from sitting at the GCCF office for over
two months and were denied with vague
boilerplate letters that did not explain
the specific reasons why they were
denied. T
hat is unacceptable.
Throughout December and January,
Feinberg travelled along the Gulf Coast
region promising folks that his system
would be more fair, transparent, and
would pay claims faster. Unfortunately,
any hope that his promises would come
true was dashed when Feinberg and his
team of lawyers drafted the new interim
and final claims protocol. Instead of
having to wait a few weeks, Claimants
will now have to wait up to three months
to even learn whether their claims will
be accepted. All the while, many of these

same companies and individuals have not
received one penny of relief from BP
or the GCCF since the oil spill
occurred. That, too, is totally unacceptable.
While the actual claim form consists of
only three pages, the GCCF now requires
individuals and businesses hurt by the oil
spill to produce documents as if they
were large, publically-traded companies.
Unfortunately, many folks and businesses
will not be able to meet these robust document requirements. Even more troubling is the GCCFs final claim calculation
of two times an interim emergency claim.
Considering that the Exxon Valdez oil
spill continues to significantly impact
Alaskan residents 20 years after the spill,
this method of calculation is totally unacceptable.
Predictably, the interim and final claims
process has proven to be even worse
than the interim emergency claims
process. Since opening on December 17,
2010, Feinbergs fund has paid only one
interim claim out of the 49,310 filed. Not
surprisingly, the only final full review
interim claim that has been paid involves
a former BP business partnerfor over
10 million dollars! Neither Feinberg nor
BP will disclose the name of that recipient. Too bad folks on the Gulf Coast
werent business partners of the oil giant.
Taking all of this into consideration, its
no surprise that Gulf Coast business closures are piling up and folks are going
into bankruptcy while desperately
waiting for their claims to be paid. One
restaurant in Moss Point, Miss., Kickers
Seafood, shut its doors recently after
having been open for 19 years due to the
GCCFs failure to fully compensate its
claims. Others, including 3 Graces restaurant of Destin, Angelos Fresh Seafood &
Takeout (which had been operating for
20 years), The Wheelhouse (Gulf Shores),
and Mikes Caf and Oyster House, are
just a few of the many restaurants left in
the wake of the GCCFs and BPs unjust
claims system. Perhaps this is why so
many businesses and individuals struggling for money took Feinbergs quick
pay final settlements around Christmas
time at $5,000 for individuals and
$25,000 for businesses.
The more time passes, the more clear it

becomes that Feinberg and BP are
working together to avoid paying claims
and to limit BPs liability. Undoubtedly,
folks along the coast are taking notice.
Last month, as reported above, Judge
Barbier issued a ruling recognizing that
Feinberg was not independent of BP. Feinberg has actually boasted that he is
working on behalf of BP. After bragging
and predicting that he would eventually
return $10 billion of the $20 billion BP
set aside for the GCCF fund, the Department of Justice wrote a scathing letter to
Feinberg stating that the role of the
GCCF is to satisfy the obligations of the
responsible parties to compensate those
harmed as a result of the Deepwater
Horizon oil spill. The letter said that the
role is not to preserve the $20 billion
fund that BP has established or to return
the money to BP.
Lawyers in our firm are working hard
every day helping Claimants get the
money they deserve. Any of our readers
who have any questions regarding the
GCCF, or the oil spill litigation in general,
can contact any of the lawyers in the
Environmental Litigation Section at 800898-2034. You can also go to our website
www.BeasleyAllen.com for more information.
Sources: Associated Press, The Mobile Press Register, Florida Freedom Newspapers, Watertown Daily
Times
A Slick Public Relations Move By BP

When I heard that BP was complaining
about how Ken Feinberg was paying too
much money out of the GCCF and was
too generous in his payments, I almost
fell out of my chair. Then I realized this
was just another slick public relations
move by the oil giant. BP furnished an
early copy of its 25-page complaint to the
New York Times so it would receive full
favorable coverage prior to any official
filing. Anybody who really believes that
BP hasnt benefited from Feinbergs handling of claims apparently hasnt filed a
claim with the GCCF or dealt with Feinberg.
Feinberg has been working for BP and
is nothing more than an extension of the
company. BP has spent hundreds of millions on public relations in efforts to con-
vince the American people that the oil

spill really wasnt that bad and that the
adverse effects of the spill are just about
over. Unfortunately, the further one gets
from the Gulf Coast, the less folks know
about the tragic consequences of the oil
spill, including the massive amounts of
chemicals that were pumped into the
waters for months. It appears that BPs
public relations efforts have been very
effective outside of the areas directly
affected by the spill.
Now the oil giant is telling the public
that if anything, Mr. Feinbergs proposed
settlements are too generous. T he
company said the planned payments far
exceed the extent of likely future
damages because they overstate the
potential for future losses. This is posted
in a strongly-worded, 25-page document
on the funds Web site. Basing its estimates on much of the same data Feinberg
used, the company concluded that there
was no credible support for adopting an
artificially high future loss factor based
purely on the inherent degree of uncertainty in predicting the future and on the
mere possibility that future harm might
occur. Putting this on the GCCF website
is meaningless except for its public relations value.
BP argues in its filing that the Feinberg
estimate vastly overstates the likely
damage, which it places in the range of
just 25% to 50% of Claimants 2010
losses. The company noted that almost all
of the closed fishing grounds had
reopened, and economic recovery in
tourism was well underway, with hotel
and sales tax revenues in the fall of 2010
similar to those from the same period in
the year before.
BP has to believe that this very public
disagreement between BP and its own
claims administrator will undercut the
other major attacks on Feinberg. Its significant that its filing, while strongly
worded, gives no indication that the oil
giant plans to intercede in the process it
handed off to Feinberg. This latest public
relations effort was a slick move by BP
and it appears to have worked well the
further one gets from the Gulf Coast.
Recently, I met with some lawyers in
Atlanta and they were all saying that most
folks in the Atlanta area believe BP has
cured all of the problems caused by the
oil spill and has done a good job of taking

care of the victims and restoring the
beaches. That made me realize how effective BP has been at its public relations
efforts and how easily the public forgets
in situations like this.
Source: New York Times
Feinberg Claims The Gulf Will Recover

By 2012
In another part of the BP public relations plan, Ken Feinberg now says the
Gulf of Mexico will recover from the
massive oil spill by the end of 2012. He
claims by that time most of the harmful
effect of the worst offshore oil spill in
U.S. history will have dissipated and the
economy will be much improved. This is
just another public relations ploy
designed to mislead folks. On the basis of
Feinbergs estimate, the GCCF plans to
make final payments of twice the documented 2010 damages minus payments
already made through the fund. As football expert Lee Corso says, Not so fast
my friend! It might be interesting to see
where Feinberg is getting this informationcould it be from BP or a source
friendly to BP? He says it comes from reliable sources, but based on his past performance on the Gulf, anything this man
says has to be suspect. As a result of what
we have seen and heard from folks on
the coast, it is hard to believe that the
Gulf will have recovered by the end of
next year.
Its no secret that millions of gallons of
oil poured into the Gulf between last
April and July, damaging the fragile wetlands of Louisiana, washing ashore in
Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, and
hitting coastal industries including
fishing and tour ism. Tremendous
damageboth short and long-termwas
done. Most Gulf coast residents believe
the compensation fund has shortchanged them and favored BPs interests
over their own. They also believe, and
rightfully so, that BP is attempting to get
out of its public commitment to make
this right for spill victims.
Scientist Finds Gulf Bottom Still Oily

And Still Dead
A recently-released report shows that
oil from the BP spill remains stuck on the
bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. Video and
slides produced by a top scientist from
the University of Georgia demonstrate
the oil isnt degrading as hoped and has
decimated life on parts of the sea
floor. T he report is at odds with the
recent report by Feinberg, explained
above, that said all will be good by 2012.
Marine scientist Dr. Samantha Joye of
the University of Georgia produced
some early results of her December submarine dives around the BP spill site at a
science conference last month in Washington. Dr. Joye went to places she had
previously visited in the summer expecting the oil and residue from oil-munching microbes to be gone by then. She
found that it wasnt. Theres some sort
of a bottleneck we have yet to identify
for why this stuff doesnt seem to be
degrading, Dr. Joye told the American
Association for the Advancement of
Science annual conference.
In five different expeditions, the last
one in December, Dr. Joye and her colleagues took 250 cores of the sea floor
and travelled across 2,600 square miles.
Some were locations she had been studying before the oil spill on April 20th. She
found there to be a noticeable change.
Much of the oil she found on the sea
floorand in the water columnwas
chemically fingerprinted, proving it
comes from the BP spill. Pictures of oilchoked bottom-dwelling creatures were
shown by Dr. Joye. They included dead
crabs and brittle starsstarfish like critters that are normally bright orange and
tightly wrapped around coral. T hese
brittle stars were pale, loose and dead.
She also saw tube worms so full of oil
they suffocated.
Dr. Joye said her research shows that
the burning of oil left soot on the sea
floor, which still had petroleum products.
Even more troublesome was the tremendous amount of methane from the BP
well that mixed into the Gulf and was
mostly ignored by other researchers. Dr.
Joye and three colleagues have published
a study in Nature Geoscience that said
the amount of gas injected into the Gulf
was the equivalent of between 1.5 and 3

million barrels of oil.The gas is an important part of understanding what happened, according to Dr. Ian MacDonald
of Florida State University. It will be interesting to see how BP and Feinberg attack
this study.
Oil Dispersant Lingered In Gulf Long

After Well Was Capped
It was reported recently by National
Geographic that dispersants used on the
Gulf Oil Spill remained in the Gulf waters
for months. The report says that, in all
probability, this has had a negative impact
on deepwater sealife. National Geographic reports the new study found
chemicals pumped directly into the oil
flowing out of the Deepwater Horizon
wellhead got stuck at about 3,000
feet. The chemicals then lingered for at
least three months after the well was
capped. Nobody can say exactly what the
overall impact on life in the Gulf will be,
but preliminary studies suggest the dispersant severely affected deepwater
coral. We believe this is a most serious
matter with consequences that will have
adverse effects for years.
Source: al.com
Lawsuit Says BPs Pursuit Of CostCutting Led To Gulf Spill

A group of investors believe officers
and directors of BP PLC, pursuing costcutting over safety, ignored red flags
that could have prevented the explosion
of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in
the Gulf of Mexico. T
he Louisiana Municipal Police Employees Retirement System
and other investors claim BP executives
and directors breached their fiduciary
duties to the company by ignoring safety
and maintenance for years before BPs
Macondo well exploded on Apr il
20th. The investors seek reforms in BP
management and damages from the executives and board members to be paid to
the company. It was alleged in a lawsuit
filed last year, and recently amended, by
the investors:
Despite repeated guilty pleas, warnings, employee deaths and injuries,

and criminal and civil penalties
imposed on the company by
numerous federal and state regulators, the Defendants continued to
systematically cut budgets. The
Defendants decisions and deliberate inaction caused one of the
largest environmental disasters in
the history of the U.S.
The investors lawsuit is a derivative
claim brought on behalf of the company.
It has been combined with other shareholder actions pending in federal court in
Houston. The Louisiana pension fund initially filed the derivative lawsuit in May
and it was joined by similar claims by
other investors. The investors now have
filed a combined amended Complaint,
adding details to their claims.
It was contended that a series of events
and regulatory fines since the Texas City
explosion should have convinced executives and managers of the need for policy
changes. BPs neglect of company pipelines in Alaska caused a March 2006
rupture that spilled 267,000 gallons of
crude oil at Prudhoe Bay and led to $20
million in civil and criminal fines against
BP, according to the Complaint. The Plaintiffs alleged that the companys internal
study into problems at the Alaskan pipeline operations, by Booz Allen Hamilton
in March 2007, found that BPs top-down
budget targets provided a budget box in
which activities, materials and projects
had to fit.
Federal safety regulators fined BP more
than $5 million for willful safety violations at its Ohio refinery from 2006 to
2010. Federal regulators and prosecutors
fined BP more than $150 million in combined civil and criminal penalties for
safety and environmental violations at the
Texas City plant and the companys
failure to bring the site into compliance
after the fatal 2005 blast. The investors
are seeking reimbursement of costs for
pursuing the lawsuit, including attorneys
and experts fees, along with unspecified
damages to be paid to BP by the individual directors and executives for the companys losses as a result of the alleged
breaches of fiduciary duty. The lawsuit
also asks that the Defendants account for
profits and benefits, including salaries,

bonuses and stock options, obtained
through their alleged misconduct. Any
money recovered would be placed in a
trust for the companys use.
Source: Business Week
One Million Fewer People Visited

Alabama Beaches After Oil Spill
It has been reported that a million
fewer visitors visited Alabamas beaches
in 2010 than the year before. It should
also be noted that many people who
visited after the oil spill were attracted by
huge discounts. According to Mike Foster,
vice president of marketing for Gulf
Shores and Orange Beach Tourism, that
means the economic blow is a lot bigger
than what you see in just straight
numbers of attendance.
In 2010, Alabama Gulf Coast beaches
including Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, Fort
Morgan and Dauphin Islandsaw 3.6
million visitors, compared to 4.6 million
people in 2009, according to a report
from the Alabama Tourism Department.
Gulf State Park alone saw 300,000 fewer
visitors in 2010 than the previous
year. The Department receives 1% of the
4% state lodging tax. But officials have
not yet determined how much lodging
revenue was lost in 2010.
Source: Al.com
Millions For Oil Spill Cleanup Owed To

Companies
It appears that millions of dollars are
owed to several companies that were
hired to help BP respond to the massive
oil spill. These companies claim BP or
one of its contractors owes them for their
work. Its not clear whether the real
culprit is BP or its contractors. The contractors BP hired employed sub-contractors to perform much of the work.
Regardless of who is in the wrong here,
BP has the responsibility to see that the
sub-contractors are paid in full.
Lawsuit Accuses BP Of Denying Oil

Spill Workers Overtime And Other
Benefits
Three workers who helped BP in its oil
spill cleanup efforts after last years disaster have filed suit in U.S. District Court in
New Orleans. It alleges that the oil giant
denied them overtime pay and other benefits. The Plaintiffs seek a notice to allow
others with similar complaints to join in
the action. T he initial Plaintiffs, Jon
Brewer, Nathan Cohen and Quentin
Doyle, say they were among tens of thousands of workers who were assigned to
do cleanup work along the Gulf Coast following the April 20, 2010, disaster. They
say BP and The Response Group LLC, a
Cypress, Texas, company, misclassified
them as independent contractors and
denied them overtime. T
he Plaintiffs seek
back pay, damages and attorneys fees.
Source: al.com
III.
DRUG
MANUFACTURERS
FRAUD LITIGATION
Jury Orders Drug Company To Pay $170
Million In Medicaid Fraud Case
A Texas jury has found that a global
drug manufacturer misrepresented prices
to the states Medicaid program and said
the company should pay the state and
federal government $170.3 million. The
verdict came at the end of a three-week
trial in a state district court. Lawyers representing the Texas Attorney Generals
office argued that the Defendants, Actavis
Mid-Atlantic LLC and Actavis Elizabeth
LLC, artificially inflated the costs of medications to obtain more money. Medicaid
reimbursed pharmacies at higher rates
because of the falsely reported prices.
This trial was the first of its kind to
take place in Texas. T here had been
similar cases by Texas in recent years, but
all of them settled out of court. Attorney
General Greg Abbott said in a statement
that the case makes clear his office will
hold accountable those who defraud the
Medicaid program. He correctly stated
that the program, a joint federal and state

effort to provide health coverage to
needy Texans, must be protected. In this
regard, the Attorney General observed:
Considering the hundreds of millions of dollars that are at stake, we
will continue to vigilantly pursue
providers that falsely report prices
to Medicaid and defraud the taxpayers.
This is just another case where drugmakers reported inflated drug prices to a
Medicaid program. This time it was the
Texas program. Texas has settled with 11
companies for more than $139 million. In
2008, the state increased pressure on
Actavis and three other drugmakers and
began to discuss settlements or possible
trials. A ctavis was the first to go to
court. Teva Pharmaceuticals settled in
July for $51 million. Par Pharmaceuticals
is set for a May trial, and a case is still
pending against Watson Pharmaceuticals.
It was proven in the Texas lawsuit that
the drugmakers schemed to increase
sales by reporting inflated drug prices to
the state Medicaid program. Pharmacies
and wholesalers who purchased the corporations drugs could bill Texas for the
inflated price, realizing windfall profits
that also were bolstered by kickbacks,
rebates and false price markups from the
drugmakers, according to the Attorney
Generals office. General Abbott said in
his statement that he has been working
for years to protect the Medicaid
program, which costs the state billions
each year.
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act of 1970. But Judge Saris
denied Kaisers request for an estimated
$76 million in interest on the award.
Kaiser officials alleged they were
duped into believing that migraines and
bipolar disorder could be treated effectively with Neurontin. As we have previously reported, Neurontin was approved
in 1993 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for epilepsy. Kaiser, the first
insurer to bring a Neurontin case against
Pfizer to trial, said it was forced to pay
$90 million more than it should have for
the drug.
Pfizer currently faces more than 300
suits accusing it of illegally promoting
Neurontin or hiding its health risks. The
drugmaker knew the medicine posed a
suicide risk and failed to disclose it to
patients and doctors. The company also
has settled at least two suits alleging the
drug played a role in users suicides. Warner-Lambert Co. developed and marketed
Neurontin for several years before Pfizer
acquired the drugmaker in 2000. Four
years later, Warner-Lambert pleaded guilty
and agreed to pay $430 million to resolve
off-label marketing allegations by the U.S.
Justice Department. Judge Saris, who is
overseeing Neurontin cases from across
the U.S. that are consolidated in federal
court in Boston, recently dismissed more
than 40 suits. A state-court judge in Missouri refused in August to grant class
action status to all former Neurontin
users in a lawsuit trying to combine
claims into a class action.
Source: Bloomberg
Source: statesman.com
Glaxo Settles Avandia Case

Pfizer To Pay $142.1 Million Over
Neurontin Marketing
Pfizer Inc., the worlds largest drugmaker, has been ordered to pay a total of
$142.1 million in damages for violating
U.S. racketeering laws in marketing Neurontin, its epilepsy drug. A federal judge
in Boston, U.S. District Judge Patti Saris,
upheld a jurys finding. Kaiser Foundation
Health Plan Inc. And Kaiser Foundation
Hospitals claimed that Pfizer illegally promoted Neurontin for unapproved uses.
Judge Saris tripled the jurys award of
$47.3 million under a provision of the
GlaxoSmithKline PLC has settled a

lawsuit alleging its Avandia diabetes drug
caused a North Carolina man to die of a
heart attack. The case, which was scheduled to go to trial, was settled on the eve
of trial. T he U.K.s biggest drugmaker
settled the suit filed by the family of
James Burford, an Avandia user who died
in 2006. The company had previously
already agreed to pay almost half a billion
dollars to resolve claims that it concealed
the drugs health risks. T he Burford
lawsuit, scheduled for trial in Philadelphia
federal court, was the first of 2,000
heading to court alleging London-based

Glaxo hid Avandias health risks. Regulators in Europe had the drug withdrawn
from the market and U.S. sales were
limited because of heart attack risks.
Burford, an electrical-parts salesman,
took Avandia for 15 months to treat diabetes before having a fatal heart attack in
his North Carolina home. He was 49 at
the time of his death. It was alleged in the
Burford case Glaxo refused to take
Avandia off the market, even though
studies concluded it increased risks of
heart attacks and strokes. It was also
alleged that Glaxo officials withheld
studies by regulators showing the
increased risk tied to the drug. The Food
and Drug Administration voted for stronger warnings and drastically limited the
use of the drug, allowing its availability to
new patients only if they are unable to
control their Type 2 diabetes with alternatives and if they are made aware of the
serious potential heart risks associated
with the drug. Patients who are currently
taking the drug may continue to do so if
they choose.
specific warning of the risk of TEN.

Johnson & Johnson argued that the Plaintiff could not seek punitive damages
because he could not show malice under
state law. But the Appeals Court concluded that the Plaintiff could proceed
with his claim for punitive damages
based on evidence that Johnson &
Johnson has known for years that ibuprofenthe main ingredient for Motrinis
associated with TEN.
The Court correctly ruled that punitive
damages were not foreclosed by the fact
that Motrins warning label had been
approved by the Food and Drug Administration. T
he Court wrote:
Source: Bloomberg
This is a most significant ruling and

one that should be universally followed
in both state and federal courts around
the country. Its sound from a legal and
constitutional perspective.
Plaintiff Will Be Allowed To Seek

Punitive Damages In Motrin Case
A Plaintiff in a product liability lawsuit
will be allowed to seek punitive damages
in his case alleging that a pharmaceutical
company failed to provide adequate
warnings with its over-the-counter pain
reliever. The California Court of Appeals
made this ruling in affirming the judgment of a lower court. The Plaintiff in
this case developed Toxic Epidermal
Necrolysis (TEN) when he was 15 years
old. The disease is a rare and sometimes
life-threatening condition characterized
by the detachment of the top layer of
skin from the lower layers of the skin all
over the body.
A product liability lawsuit was filed
against Johnson & Johnson, alleging that
the boys disease was the result of a
severe reaction to Motrin, an over-thecounter pain reliever made by one of the
drug companys subsidiaries. It was contended by the Plaintiff that Johnson &
Johnsons warning label for Motrin was
inadequate because it failed to include a
There are triable issues of fact

regarding whether [Johnson & Johnsons] FDA-approved labeling could
evidence despicable conduct or conscious disregard for safety. The relevant federal regulations place the
burden on manufacturers to ensure
their drug labeling is adequate at
all times, regardless of FDA
approval of existing labeling.
Source: Lawyers USA Online
IV.
PURELY POLITICAL
NEWS & VIEWS
New Head Of Alabama Democratic
Party Elected
Former Supreme Court Justice Mark
Kennedy was elected last month as the
new Chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party. In my opinion, Mark was an
excellent choice to take over the reins of
the party. Mark is highly intelligent, a tremendous communicator, and has good
organizational talents. Nevertheless, Mark
will face a real challenge in trying to turn
things around for Democrats in Alabama.
Currently things are not good for the
Democratic Party in our state.
Bradley Davidson has been named by

Mark as Executive Director of the
Alabama Democratic Party. Davidson
replaces Jim Spearman. He is the former
executive director of Empower Alabama,
a nonprofit organization that worked to
increase civic service among young
people. The Selma native is a graduate of
the University of Alabama and Vanderbilt
University. He is pursuing a graduate certificate in public administration from the
University of Virginia.
Republicans Elect A New Leader

Bill Armistead of Columbiana has been
elected as the new chairman of the
Alabama Republican Party. Bill, a former
member of the state Senate, takes over
from the Legislatures new Speaker of the
House, Mike Hubbard of Auburn. According to the new chairman, the GOP wont
look back to 2010. Instead, Bill said that
the fight has just begun against the Democrats. He added that the GOP is marching forward to victory in 2012.
Bill cautioned Republicans to watch
out for Democrats trying to interfere in
party elections with either crossover
voting or running as pretend Republicans in future elections. He is appointing
a committee to examine ideas such as
party registration and other ways to make
certain real Republicans are running the
Republican Party. Bill ran for the position
against state Rep. Jay Love of Montgomery in an election by the State Republican
Executive Committee. Many observers
believed Jay would be elected, but it
appears the old line Republicans were
able to elect their man. It will be interesting to see how this move works out.
Source: Birmingham News
V.
LEGISLATIVE
HAPPENINGS
Bad News For Alabama At Budget
Hearings
The Alabama Legislature will be facing
some tough financial decisions during
the regular session which began this

month. The Education Trust Fund, which
funds public education in Alabama, has
been reduced by $1.5 billion, a huge
amount, over the last several years. But,
the full force of these reductions failed to
hit the education community. T hats
because the Federal Government provided a billion dollars in stimulus funds
over the last two years. Now, there are no
more stimulus monies and that puts
Alabama in a real bind. State Legislators
will have to cut the next education
budget by some $500 million after they
cut everything that could possibly be cut
out of the budget. When you consider
that education has to be a priority for our
state leaders and is critically important to
our states future, I wonder what will
happen.
Unfortunately, the General Fund budget
is worse off than the education budget.
Medicaid alone needs $235 million to
maintain current levels of health
care. T he Department of Corrections
needs $72 million to avoid releasing thousands of prisoners. Maintaining current
levels of service requires $700 million. It
will be difficult to choose between
reducing health care for our poor and
releasing prisoners on one hand and
cutting other needed governmental services on the other hand. This will be a
very tough session for all concerned.
MADD Needs Our Help In Its Fight

Against Drunk Driving
In 2009, there were just under 11,000
Americans killed in drunk driver motor
vehicle crashes. Its significant that 3,000
folks in the U.S. Are killed each year by
repeat offender drunk drivers. Unfortunately, Alabama is one of the states that
doesnt do enough to prevent first-time
offenders from becoming repeat offenders. Lawyers in our firm who handle litigation involving motor vehicle crashes
know firsthand that drunk drivers are a
real problem in our state. We would like
to see Alabama become a real leader in
eliminating drunk driving to the fullest
extent possible.
The Alabama Legislature should pass
legislation to eradicate repeat-offender
violations, injuries and deaths through
10
the mandatory use of ignition interlocks

for all drunk driving offenders. MADD has
had a campaign to eliminate drunk
driving and this has been a key part of
the program. Hopefully the Legislators
will make passage of this legislation a top
priority for the Regular Session which
starts this month.
In addition, the strictest prevention
measures and the toughest enforcement
of existing penalties should be used by
law enforcement and the courts. Continuing to educate the publicand especially
young folksthat drinking and driving
will lead to serious consequences for
offenders is also a necessity. A ll of us
should support MADDS efforts and get
actively involved with them. T he first
place to start is in our homes and work
places.
Gov. Bentley Supports Coastal

Insurance Legislation
Gov. Robert Bentley has again given his
support for a bill that would force insurers to disclose premiums collected and
losses paid. He pledged to hold a Special
Session to seek a comprehensive solution
to coastal insurance woes. There is a tremendous need for lower prices and more
options in the hard-pressed homeowners
insurance market of Mobile and Baldwin
counties.
Sen. Ben Brooks, R-Mobile, will be a key
person in the move to get legislation
passed. Insurance reform is badly needed
and hopefully it will happen in the Regular
Session. Gov. Bentley has said he prefers a
consensus on solutions before calling a
Special Session, which makes sense. He
also indicated he might appoint a commission to include insurers, policyholders and
Insurance Commissioner Jim Ridling.
Source: al.com
VI.
COURT WATCH
Supreme Court Allows Lawsuits Over
Seat Belts
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a very
important decision, ruled last month that
federal regulations setting vehicle safety

standards do not bar lawsuits seeking
damages from automakers for installing
lap-only seat belts. The unanimous ruling
held that a California lawsuit against
Mazda Motor Corp. over a fatal 2002 collision involving a 1993 Mazda minivan
could proceed. A passenger sitting in a
rear seat and wearing a lap-only seat belt
was killed.
The lawsuit filed by the family of the
passenger, Thanh Williamson, alleged that
the minivan was defectively designed
because it lacked a lap-and-shoulder seat
belt for the rear seat. Mazda said it complied with federal safety regulations in
effect at the time and that an appellate
court in California correctly ruled the
product liability lawsuit could not go
forward. The Supreme Court disagreed
and overturned the appellate court
ruling.
Justice Stephen Breyer said in the
Courts opinion that the federal safety
regulation does not preempt state tort
lawsuits claiming manufacturers should
have installed lap-and-shoulder belts,
instead of lap-only belts, on rear inner
seats. The ruling adopted the position
argued by the Obama Administration,
which said California and other courts
have interpreted federal law too broadly
in barring lawsuits against automakers
that put in lap-only seat belts. It said the
federal regulations were meant only as
minimum standards. The vehicle safety
regulations have been changed, and most
passenger vehicles built after September
1, 2007, include shoulder-and-lap seat
belts in all rear seats that face
forward. T he Administration said the
issue still was important and estimated
that more than 1 million vehicles in the
United States still have some lap-only
belts. T his is an extremely important
ruling and is a victory for consumers. The
Court has cleared up the confusion
caused by the misapplication of an earlier
High Court decision, Geiger v. America
Honda Motor Co. This should take away
from automakers a bogus defense, i.e.,
federal preemption, in their efforts to
avoid liability in meritorious cases. It will
also give victims an opportunity to hold
wrongdoers accountable.
Vacancies Filled On The Criminal

Appeals Court
Gov. Robert Bentley has filled the two
vacancies on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals. He appointed Shelby County
Circuit Judge Michael Joiner to fill the
vacant seat left when Jim Main was
appointed to the Alabama Supreme
Court. Judge Joiner was elected Circuit
Judge in Shelby County in 1992 and has
served as Presiding Circuit Judge since
2005. He created the drug court program
in Shelby County in 2002 and served as
co-chairman of a committee to implement drug courts across the state. Judge
Joiner has lived in Shelby County all his
life. He will be a very good addition to
the Appeals Court.
Gov. Bentley also named Marshall
County District Judge Liles Burke to serve
on the Court of Criminal Appeals. Judge
Burke fills the vacancy left on the court
by now-Justice Kelli Wise. Judge Burke
presided over criminal, civil, and juvenile
cases brought in district, circuit and juvenile court. He has done an outstanding
job as a district judge in Marshall County.
Judge Burke from all accounts will also
be a very good addition to the Court.
Source: Washington Post
U.S. Supreme Court Sides With CSX

Corp. In Alabama Tax Case
Federal Judicial Vacancies Reaching

Crisis Point
It was reported last month that federal
judges have been retiring at a rate of one
per week this year. This is driving up the
number of vacancies that have nearly
doubled since President Obama took
office. T hese departures are delaying
trials in some of the nations federal
courts. The workloads for judges in the
federal system has greatly increased. T
he
crisis is most acute along the southwestern border, where immigration and drug
cases have overwhelmed court officials. The three judges in Tucson, the site
of last months shooting rampage, are
each handling about 1,200 criminal
cases. There is a crisis in Arizona where
criminal trials are being delayed.
Since President Obama took office,
federal judicial vacancies have risen
steadily as dozens of judges have left
without being replaced by the Presidents
nominees. There are several reasons for
this problem. Republicans have blocked
nominees, the White House has been

slow with nominations, and a dysfunctional Senate confirmation system is also
being blamed. Senate Republicans and
the White House should work together to
set aside the divisions that have slowed
confirmations.
There are now 101 vacancies among
the nations 857 district and circuit judgeships, with 46 classified as judicial emergencies in which courts are struggling to
keep up with the workload. At least 15
more vacancies are expected this year,
according to the Administrative Office of
the U.S. Courts. When Obama took office
in 2009, 54 judgeships were open. The
effect is most visible in civil cases, with
delays of up to three years in resolving
discrimination claims, corporate disputes
and other lawsuits. The vast majority of
federal cases are dispensed through the
district and circuit courts of appeal, with
the Supreme Court hearing fewer than
100 cases each year. The 60 nominees
confirmed in Obamas first two years in
office made up the lowest number in 35
years, according to the Senate Judiciary
Committee.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against

the State of Alabama in a decision
released last month. The Court broadened the ability of railroads to challenge
state taxes as illegally favoring other
types of carriers, ruling in favor of CSX
Corp. The justices, voting 7-2, said CSX
can press claims that the state is violating
a federal law that protects railroads from
discrimination by forcing the company to
pay higher fuel taxes than motor and
water carriers.
A lower court has said that the federal
law, known as the Railroad Revitalization
and Regulatory Reform Act, doesnt
permit suits over generally applicable
sales and use taxes. CSX says that in some
parts of the state it pays diesel fuel taxes
of as much as 10%or 30 cents per
gallon on fuel costing $3. Motor carriers
pay a flat rate of 19 cents per gallon,
while water carriers are exempt from
sales and use taxes if they travel in inter-
state or foreign commerce, according to a

statement by CSX.
Source: Al.com
All Americans Should Read The Bill Of

Rights
I sometimes wonder how many U.S.
citizens have taken the time to read the
U.S. Constitution and that includes the
ten Amendments known as the Bill of
Rights. While all of us should read the Bill
of Rights, its especially needed by those
who make laws in this country, both at
the national and state levels. Its also
needed for those who have the responsibility to interpret those laws passed by
Legislative bodies. I fear that we have
failed to follow to the letter that which
was expected by our forefathers. Most of
our readers are probably familiar with the
first ten amendments to the Constitution
of the United States. But to be sure I am
setting these amendments out here.
The Seventh Amendment is one that
has been virtually ignored and greatly
abused by the U.S. Supreme Court and
also by the Executive branch of government during the Bush Administration. Its
clear as a bell that each U.S. citizen has a
constitutional right to a trial by jury to
resolve civil disputes in our judicial
system. Thats why its impossible to reconcile the courts allowing mandatory,
binding arbitration and federal preemption, each of which take away the rights
of citizens. When the members of the U.S.
House of Representatives read the entire
U.S. Constitution earlier this year, I wondered if all of them grasped the true
meaning of what they read and heard.
Hopefully, enough of them did and will
work to see that all Constitutional rights
are preserved and protected.
VII.
THE NATIONAL
SCENE
State Bankruptcy Proposal Criticized
By Both Parties At Hearing
At a February hearing in the U.S. House
of Representatives, both Republicans and
11
state bankruptcy would disrupt the

current municipal bond market and
undermine investor confidence, said the
managing director of a Massachusettsbased municipal bond firm.
In a piece of troubling economic news,
U.S. states are forecasting a collective
$125 billion in budget deficits for fiscal
year 2012, according to a study by the
Washington-based Center on Budget &
Policy Priorities. However, there some
signs that states are beginning to emerge
from the worst effects of the recession.
U.S. state tax collections headed for their
biggest jump in more than four years
during the last three months of 2010, the
fourth-straight increase, according to a
study this month from the Nelson A.
Rockefeller Institute of Government in
New York.
In Alabama, our States constitution
requires the Legislature to construct and
pass a balanced budget every fiscal year.
Consequently, all state agencies and entities in Alabama which depend on state
funds are bracing for a budget shortfall at
the end of fiscal year 2011 and for even
more significant cuts in fiscal year 2012.
Our elected leaders have a great deal of
work ahead as they navigate the state
through these difficult financial times. If
you need additional information on this
matter, you can contact Clay Barnett, a
lawyer in our Consumer Fraud Section, at
800-898-2034 or by email at Clay.
Barnett@beasleyallen.com.
Source: Bloomberg
Democrats criticized a proposal to allow

states to file for bankruptcy to escape
their debts, calling it an unnecessary
intrusion into local affairs that could roil
the bond market. Former House Speaker
Newt Gingrich, who badly wants to be
elected President, has advanced the idea.
However, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Republican Lamar
Smith, said that allowing bankruptcy
filings could penalize states with higher
interest costsincluding states with
sound balance sheets. Representative
John Conyers, a Democrat from Michigan,
said it is a useless idea. Democrat Hank
Johnson, a Georgia Democrat, said, State
bankruptcy may be a solution in search
of a problem.
12
Suggestions that states should be

allowed to file for bankruptcy, as cities
can, have drawn criticism from federal
lawmakers in both parties, state officials
and public-employee unions, whose contracts might be jeopardized in a filing.
States were left out of a Depression-era
law that allows municipalities to reorganize their finances under Chapter 9 of
the Bankruptcy Code, a provision that
has largely been used by small sewer and
utility districts. Since Vallejo, Calif., a
115,000-person town, filed for bankruptcy in early 2008, no city of that size
has followed its lead.
The skepticism about allowing states
to seek protection from creditors was
echoed by experts invited to speak
before the subcommittee. Legislating
VIII.
THE CORPORATE
WORLD
NHTSA Employees And The Automobile
Industry
There has been a great deal of attention relating to a recently-released study
on Toyotas runaway-acceleration problems. The Washington Post reported that
dozens of former federal officials have
played leading roles in helping carmakers
handle federal investigations of auto
defects. An analysis by the Post shows
that as many as 33 former National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration

employees and Transportation Department appointees left those jobs in recent
years and now work for automakers. They are working as lawyers, consultants and lobbyists and in other jobs that
deal with government safety investigations, recalls and regulations. Common
sense tells us that this can create serious
problems if persons working for NHTSA
in regulatory roles are looking ahead for
future employment in the very industry
being regulated.
These former NHTSA employees can
be found throughout the industry. They
are on staff rosters for every major automaker and every major automotive trade
group. They also appear as expert witnesses and legal counsel for the industry
in major lawsuits involving auto safety
issues. Several former Cabinet members
have gone on to work directly for automakers. For example, Toyota recently
hired Rodney E. Slater, the Transportation
Secretary under President Bill Clinton, to
head its North American Quality Advisory
Panel. T he panel assists the company
with quality and safety issues.
Clarence Ditlow, executive director of
the Center for Auto Safety, who is
opposed to the agency hiring staff from
the industry, had this to say:
They look upon that time as a
down payment on future income.
On the whole, regulators shouldnt
come from the regulated industry
and they certainly shouldnt go
back.
Automotive safety experts are concerned about revolving-door trends concerning NHTSA and the automobile
industry. T he consequences are quite
serious for several reasons. The agencys
Office of Defects Investigation has a staff
of only 57 persons. It can easily be overpowered by the thousands of experts in
Washington who represent the automobile industry. The agency is the governments gatekeeper on auto defects, which
account for at least 10% of vehicle fatalities each year, according to the Center for
Auto Safety. NHTSA is also responsible for
setting legal standards that consumers
depend on when they are looking around
to buy vehicles for families and businesses.
I am convinced that when it comes to

regulation the deck is often stacked
against consumers in regard to safety
issues. NHTSA and its employees must be
independent and capable of doing the
job of regulation. More will be written on
this matter in the section on Toyota.
However, I suggest that you read the
article by Kimberly Kindy in the February
9th issue of the Post.
Source: Washington Post
Tyson Foods Will Pay $5.2 Million

In Fines
The Department of Justice says that
Tyson Foods, Inc. paid Mexican officials
bribes to get its chicken past inspections
and across the border for import into the
United States. Tyson Foods used false
books and sham jobs to hide bribe payments made to publically-employed meat
processing plant inspectors in Mexico,
Assistant Attorney General Lanny A.
Breuer said recently. As a result of the
scheme, he says Tyson will pay $4 million
to the United States to resolve criminal
allegations and $1.2 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
As part of a deferred prosecution
agreement with the Justice Department,
Tyson acknowledged responsibility for
the actions of its subsidiaries, employees
and agents who made improper payments to government-employed veterinarians who inspected two of its chicken
processing plants in Gomez Palacio,
Mexico. Any company that exports meat
products from Mexico must participate
in an inspection program, supervised by
the Mexican Department of Agriculture. According to court documents, the
inspection program at each facility is
supervised by an on-site veterinarian
employed by the government of Mexico
to ensure that all exports conform to
Mexican health and safety laws.
According to the Department of
Justice, Tysons Mexican subsidiary, Tyson
de Mexico, paid approximately $90,000
between 2004 and 2006, to two publically-employed veter inar ians who
inspected its Mexican plants, resulting in
profits of approximately $880,000. Under
the Dodd-Frank Act passed in July of last
year, securities fraud whistleblowers are
entitled to between 10-30% of SEC recoveries for original information prompting

any judicial or administrative action
brought by the commission under the
securities laws that results in monetary
sanctions exceeding $1,000,000.That is a
good thing and badly needed to stop the
sort of thing described above.
Source: fraudblawg.com
Chevron Fined $9.5 Billion In Ecuador

An Ecuadorean judge has ruled in an
important environmental case that
Chevron Corp. was responsible for oil
drilling contamination in a wide swath of
Ecuadors northern jungle. Chevron was
ordered to pay $9.5 billion in damages
and cleanup costs. But the amount$8.6
billion plus a legally mandated 10% reparations feewas far below the $27.3
billion award recommended by a courtappointed expert. Even so, it appears to
be the highest damage award ever issued
in an environmental lawsuit.
But whether the Plaintiffsincluding
indigenous groups who say their hunting
and fishing grounds in Amazon River
headwaters were decimated by toxic
wastewater that also raised the cancer
ratewill be able to collect remains to
be seen. In a statement, Chevron called
the decision illegitimate and unenforceable and vowed to appeal. T
he company
has contended that it could never get a
fair trial in Ecuador and has removed all
assets from the country.
This high-stakes case has been in the
U.S. A nd Ecuadorean courts for more
than 17 years. Its also possible that the
Plaintiffs may decide to appeal. The suit
was originally filed in a New York federal
court in 1993 against Texaco and dismissed three years later after the oil
company argued that Ecuador was the
proper venue to hear the case. Chevron
bought Texaco in 2001 and the suit was
refiled in Ecuador two years later.
The 47 named Plaintiffs in the suit
sought damages on behalf of 30,000
people for environmental contamination
and illnesses that they claim resulted
from Texacos operation of an oil consortium from 1972 to 1990, an oil patch dug
out of virgin rain forest. T
he recent ruling
was hailed by the environmentalist
13
groups Amazon Watch and Rainforest

Action Network as proving overwhelmingly that the oil giant is responsible for
billions of gallons of highly toxic waste
sludge deliberately dumped into local
streams and rivers, which thousands
depend on for drinking, bathing, and
fishing. It is time Chevron clean up its
disastrous mess in Ecuador, they said in a
joint statement.
Chevron invested tens of millions of
dollars in its legal defense as well as
counterattacks against the Plaintiffs and
Ecuadorean officials. It has long argued
that a 1998 agreement Texaco signed
with Ecuador after a $40 million cleanup
releases the company of any liability in
the case. But the Plaintiffs contend that
the cleanup was a sham and didnt
exempt third-party claims.
The events involved in this litigation
reminded me of the old James Bond
(007) movies. Chevron sought relief in a
half-dozen U.S. federal courts and
requested binding arbitration in an international tribunal in the Netherlands. The
oil company even used corporate spies to
clandestinely videotape meetings with
Ecuadorean officials in which the men
posed as contractors seeking oil contamination cleanup contracts. The men were
said to have even tried to talk the trial
judgewho later resignedinto saying
he expected to rule against Chevron. It
was reported that one of the men turned
out to be a convicted drug trafficker.
A federal judge in New York, on a
motion by Chevron, issued an order
blocking any judgment for at least 28
days. The judge concluded that attempts
to collect assets could seriously disrupt
the business of a company vital to the
global economy. The ruling in Ecuador
gives Chevron 60 days to set up an
escrow account in Ecuador through
which the damages would be distributed.
The decision in Ecuador requires that
Chevron pay $6 billion for cleanup of soil
and water; $1.4 billion to build health
care systems; and $800 million for creating health care plans and attending to
cancer patientsthe court-appointed
expert had calculated 1,401 pollutioncased cancer deaths. The balance of the
recovery is earmarked for recovering
native plant species, water distribution
systems and repairing cultural damage. In
14
addition, under the applicable law

Chevron must pay 10% of the judgment
as reparations. It will be interesting to see
how this very complex litigation will
wind up.
Source: Forbes
Advice On How To Avoid Shareholder

Lawsuits
There have been a tremendous number
of investor lawsuits filed in the courts
around the country over the past several
years. Many so-called experts made a
good living advising Corporate America
on how to avoid being sued. When companies are looking at bad earnings news,
a new study released by the University of
Iowa has some pretty good advice for
corporate bosses. The study suggests its
best for executives to remember what
they learned as children. If a child does
something wrong and tells his mother
about it, hell probably be in less trouble
than if mom finds out about it on her
own, said Richard Mergenthaler, an
accounting professor in the Tippie
College of Business at the University of
Iowa.
The new study concludes that the
earlier a firm announces bad earnings
news, the less likely it will be sued by
unhappy shareholders. In fact, Mergenthalers research found that companies
that wait until the last few weeks of a
quarter to announce they will not meet
analysts earnings expectations are 45
times more likely to face shareholder lawsuits than firms that make the announcement in the first weeks of the quarter.
Mergenthaler concluded that (t)he
earlier a company communicates the
information to the market, the better off
theyll be. The study, The Timeliness of
Earnings News and Litigation Risk, is coauthored by Dain Donelson, John McInnis
and Yong Yu, all of the University of Texas
at Austin. Im not sure about this study,
but I suspect the findings are pretty
much accurate!
IX.
TOYOTA
LITIGATION
UPDATE
Government Findings On Toyota Sudden
Unintended Acceleration
On February 8th, the U.S. Department
of Transportation released results of a tenmonth study on the suspected cause of
Sudden Unintended Acceleration (SUA)
that affected thousands of Toyota vehicles
and prompted the recall of more than 8
million various makes and models beginning in late 2009. The National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration contracted a
group of NASA engineers to look into the
issue of sudden unintended acceleration
in nine Toyota vehicles. This study could
not prove that Toyota electronic throttle
systems caused unintended acceleration
in the vehicles that were studied. The
NASA engineers cautioned: Because
proof that the ETCSi (electronic throttle)
caused the reported UAs was not found
does not mean it could not occur.
Despite this finding, Secretary of Transportation Ray La Hood told reporters in a
news conference:There is no electronicbased cause for unintended high-speed
acceleration in Toyotas. But a number of
safety groups investigating claims of accidents, injuries and deaths caused by SUA
believe the study is incomplete and in no
way exonerates Toyota or involvement of
its electronic throttle system. Most
believe the NASA study will not stand up
when more exhaustive research is finalized. Lawyers in our firm who are
working on SUA cases agree on that
point.
NASAs report is not exhaustive, nor the
final word on the issue of Sudden Unintended Acceleration in Toyota vehicles.
Dee Miles, who is head of our firms Consumer Fraud section, serves on the
Liaison Committee for personal injury/
wrongful death cases in the Toyota MultiDistrict Litigation (MDL). Dee points out
that there is ongoing, more extensive
testing on the suspect Toyota models
being conducted by the MDL lawyers and
experts, as well as by independent investigators. NHTSAs work is certainly
helpful to all, but they are limited in their

resources and their testing appears to
have been limited as a result.
Another of our lawyers, Graham Esdale,
has been working on Toyota SUA cases
long before the first recalls were
announced by the manufacturer. Graham
firmly believes that more testing will
prove that some Toyota vehicles have
experienced Electronic Throttle Control
System problems that led to death in
some cases and injury in others. He says
the book is still open on this problem. It
should be noted that a primary defect in
the Toyota vehicles is the lack of a brake
over-ride system. Had these vehicles
incorporated this safety feature, the
crashes, whether caused by electronics, a
sticky pedal or floor mat interference,
would never have happened. NHTSA did
note in the report that it may require a
brake override system as mandatory on
all cars.
The notion that SUA is tied to the automobile electrical system has already been
supported by independent research,
including a study conducted by Safety
Research & Strategies, Inc. (SRS). Sean
Kane, president of SRS, testified before
Congress in February of last year to
present findings that proved incidences
of SUA even after problems such as
sticky accelerator pedals and improperly fitted floor mats were corrected.
During 2010, NHTSA levied $48.8 million
in civil penalties against Toyota for its
failure to comply with federal law in notifying the government about potential
problems that eventually led to the
massive recalls.Hopefully, Toyotas bosses
realized that it is in the companys best
interest to put this chapter in its history
behind it and move forward.
Regulators Hired By Toyota Helped

Halt Investigations
The revolving door from NHTSA to the
automobile industry is a most serious
problem. Former regulators hired by
Toyota Motor Corp. helped end at least
four U.S. investigations of unintended
acceleration by company vehicles in the
last decade, warding off possible recalls.
Christopher Tinto, vice president of regulatory affairs in Toyotas Washington
office, and Christopher Santucci, who

works for Tinto, helped persuade the
NHTSA to end probes including those of
2002-2003 Toyota Camrys and Solaras.
Both men joined Toyota directly from
NHTSA, Tinto in 1994 and Santucci in
2003.
While all automakers have employees
who handle NHTSA issues,Toyota may be
alone among the major companies in
employing former agency staffers to do
so. General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co.,
Chrysler Group LLC and Honda Motor
Co. All claim their companies have no exNHTSA people who deal with the agency
on defects. The links between Toyota and
NHTSA are cause for concern. This may
fuel mounting criticism of their handling
of defects in Toyota and Lexus models
tied to 19 deaths between 2004 and
2009. Three Congressional committees
are still looking into the Toyota recalls.
Joan Claybrook, an auto safety advocate
and former NHTSA administrator in the
Jimmy Carter administration, stated:
Toyota bamboozled NHTSA or
NHTSA was bamboozled by itself. I
think there is going to be a lot of
heat on NHTSA over this.
In one example of the Toyota aides
role, Santucci testified in a Michigan
lawsuit that the company and NHTSA discussed limiting an examination of unintended acceleration complaints to
incidents lasting less than a second. T
ransportation Department spokeswoman
Olivia Alair said recently that NHTSA currently has three open investigations
involving Toyota and is monitoring two
major safety recalls involving Toyota vehicles. NHTSAs record reflects that safety is
its singular priority.
On January 21 st Toyota recalled 2.3
million U.S. cars and trucks with potentially defective accelerator pedals. That
followed Toyotas decision in November
to recall 4.48 million vehicles in the
U.S. A nd Canada because f loor mats
might trap gas pedals while they were
depressed. As of February 8th, combined
worldwide recalls for pedals, floor mats
and a software fix to adjust brakes on the
Prius and other hybrid models rose to
more than 8 million vehicles.
All four of the probes the Toyota aides
helped end were about complaints that
the unintended acceleration was caused

by flaws in the vehicles electronic throttle systems. Toyota has consistently
denied that the system is a problem. Tinto
came to Toyota after about four years at
NHTSA. He hired Santucci from NHTSA
in 2003, after the two met on opposite
sides of the table in defect investigation
cases. Santucci said in the deposition that
he works on most of the automakers
recall petitions. In last years floor-mat
recall, Santucci said he helped write Toyotas explanation of the remedy and had
phone calls and meetings with NHTSA to
describe the automakers plans.
NHTSA opened eight investigations of
unintended acceleration of Toyota vehicles from 2003 to 2010, according to
Safety Research & Strategies Inc., a
Rehoboth, Mass., group that gathers data
from NHTSA and other sources. Three of
the probes resulted in recalls for floor
mats. Five were closed, meaning NHTSA
found no evidence of a defect. In four of
the five cases that were closed, Tinto and
Santucci worked with NHTSA on Toyotas
responses to the consumer complaints
the agency was investigating, agency documents show.
The first closed case where NHTSA
records show the involvement of Tinto
and Santucci dealt with unanticipated
acceleration by 2002 and 2003 Toyota
Camrys and Solaras. The case, opened in
March 2004, was the one Santucci testified about when he discussed limiting
the scope of the probe. He did so in a
deposition for a lawsuit filed on behalf of
a Michigan woman who was killed in an
April 2008 accident.
Its both interesting and highly significant that an internal Toyota document,
subpoenaed by a House committee,
showed Toyota officials boasted about
the effectiveness of the effort in which
Santucci and Tinto were involved. Toyota
said it saved the company as much as
$100 million. If some ordinary person or
the owner of a small business operated
like this most of our political leaders in
Washington would claim to be shocked!
15
Stalling Toyota Highlanders Spur

Investigation
The government has opened a preliminary investigation into reports of stalling
engines in more than 40,000 Toyota Highlander hybrids. The National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration said on its
website it had received 32 complaints
alleging stalling engines in Highlander
hybrids from the 2006 model year. The
probe involves 43,491 hybrids and was
opened last week. There have been no
crashes or injuries reported. Defect investigations can sometimes lead to vehicle
recalls. Toyota has recalled more than 12
million vehicles globally over safety problems since 2009, but U.S. regulators said
earlier this month that electronic flaws
were not to blame for reports of sudden,
unintended acceleration. The new investigation involves reports of Highlanders
stalling at speeds of 40 miles per hour or
more. Some drivers reported the vehicle
could not be restarted or was towed to
the dealership. Nearly all of the reports
were received within the past
year. Toyota said it would fully cooperate
with the review. The preliminary investigation will assess the scope, frequency
and potential safety problems connected
to the alleged safety defect.
X.
PRODUCT
LIABILITY UPDATE
Missouri Supreme Court Rules Against
Ford Motor Company
The Missouri Supreme Court has ruled
on appeal that an overweight woman
who was paralyzed in a Ford Explorer
crash can sue the manufacturer for failing
to warn of the risk of seat collapse in
rear-end collisions. In the ruling, the
Supreme Court reversed a lower court
judgment. T he Plaintiff, who weighed
300 pounds, was driving a 2002 Ford
Explorer when she was rear-ended by
another vehicle. The Explorers seat collapsed backward, fracturing her T9 vertebra. She was rendered a paraplegic as a
result of her injuries.
16
The Plaintiff sued Ford for defective

design and failure to warn. A jury found
in favor of Ford on the Plaintiffs claim
that the design of the seat was unreasonably dangerous because it was more
likely to collapse in a rear-end collision
when being used by an overweight
person. While the Supreme Court upheld
the jurys design defect verdict, it said
that the trial judge was in error in directing a verdict for Ford on the Plaintiffs
failure-to-warn claim.
In reaching its decision on the failureto-warn claim, the Supreme Court held
that state law in Missouri recognizes a
failure-to-warn cause of action when the
consumer shows she would not have
purchased or would not have used an
otherwise non-defective product that
was rendered unreasonably dangerous
because of the lack of adequate warning
about the dangers the product posed to
the class of users of which the Plaintiff is
a member. The Supreme Court also concluded that the Plaintiffs evidence was
sufficient to present her failure-to-warn
claim to a jury. T he Courts opinion
stated:
[N]ot only did the [the Plaintiff and
her husband] testify that they did
not know the Explorer seats yielded
rearward for persons of [the plaintiffs] weight much more readily
than for persons of normal weight,
they went further by presenting evidence that had they read a warning
before purchase, they would not
have purchased the Explorer, and
had they learned of it later through
reading the manual, [the plaintiffs
husband] would have done everything in his power to prevent his
wife from riding in the Explorer.
This causation theory is straightforward, not speculative, and does not
offend reasonable concepts of proximate cause.
While this is a mixed verdict both for
the Plaintiff and for Ford, its still significant. But it will be very interesting to see
how a jury reacts to this claim on retrial.
Of course, its quite possible the parties
will settle and avoid a trial.
Multiple Recalls For Rear Suspension

Our firm has had the occasion recently
to review a number of cases where the
potential defect involved the failure of
rear support or suspension in vehicles. These vehicles include: 1999-2003
Ford Windstar; 1998-2002 Isuzu Rodeo;
2002 Isuzu Axiom; and 1998-2002 Honda
Passport. Other vehicles that have had
similar recalls include: 2001-2003
Hyundai Elantra; 2001-2004 Hyundai
XG300 and XG350; 1999-2004 Hyundai
Sonata.
The specific defect includes failure in
the front or rear suspension equipment.
With respect to the Isuzu vehicles, the
defective equipment has been identified
as the rear suspension lower link bracket.
With respect to the Ford Windstar, the
defective equipment has been identified
as the front lower control arm rear
attaching bracket.
The recalls apply mostly to northern
states, including Connecticut, Delaware,
the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana,
Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah,
Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The failure of this suspension equipment is purportedly the result of
exposure to highly-corrosive materials
used in many northern states for deicing
roads.
In many instances, lawyers in our firm
who handle product liability litigation
review cases where there are serious
injuries and deaths involved. In many
cases the reason that a vehicle left the
roadway in a crash may not be known initially. This type of failure is one of many
possibilities we explore to attempt to
make such determinations.
Despite the fact that the recalls focus
on these northern states, such failures
should be considered in these vehicles in
any instance where there is an unexplained loss of control of these and other
vehicles. Many vehicles have traveled in
these states and may have been exposed
to these corrosive materials.
Our products liability section is prepared to assist with investigating such
cases where serious injuries or deaths
have resulted to determine if the vehicle
accident was the result of such a failure

in these and other vehicles. We also
encourage our readers, especially those
in the listed states, to watch for this type
of corrosion in the suspension area of
their vehicles.
Sources: http://www.internetautoguide.com; http://
wwwodi.nhtsa.dot.gov/recalls/results; and http://www.
usrecallnews.com.
Weak Roofs And Unstable SUVs Still

Causing Death And Serious Injuries
Automobile manufacturer s have
known for decades that the roofs on
their vehicles are weak and not capable
of withstanding forces in a real-world
rollover accident. Further, manufacturers
have known for years of the instability in
their SUVs. SUVs with narrow track
width are much more likely to roll over
on smooth, flat, dry pavement than vehicles with a much larger track width. Both
of these design defectsweak roofs and
a narrow track widthare a dangerous
combination for unsuspecting consumers of these vehicles. A recent opinion
out of the California Court of Appeals
highlights just how dangerous the combination of these design defects is to the
traveling public.
On December 14, 2003, Sukhsagar
Pannu was driving his 1998 Land Rover
Discovery (Series 1) sport utility vehicle
on an interstate in California. Mr. Pannu
was a successful businessman and was a
world-class athlete who once played for
the Hong Kong National Field Hockey
Team. A nother vehicle approached
Pannus SUV from the rear and collided
with it. T he collision forced the SUV
across the freeway toward the far right
lane where it also collided with a Chevrolet Blazer. The Land Rover rolled over
three and a half times before coming to a
stop on its roof. During the rollover, the
roof crushed 16-17 inches into Pannus
occupant space.
As a result, Pannu suffered a severe
spinal injury resulting in partial quadriplegia. Pannu sued Land Rover, the manufacturer of the SUV, alleging that the
vehicle was defectively designed because
it was unstable and had a weak roof. At
trial, Pannus attorneys proved that, by
simply reinforcing certain aspects of the
roofs structure, at a minimum cost, the
roof crush would have been limited to

only three inches. Further, Pannu established that, by simply adding an inch and
a half to the track width of the vehicle
and utilizing low profile tires to lower
the center of gravity by a mere .44
inches, the Land Rover would not have
rolled over.
After hearing the evidence, a California
judge concluded that the Land Rovers
defective design in both having a weak
roof and a narrow track width caused the
injuries to Mr. Pannu. During the trial,
Land Rover attempted to attribute the full
responsibility for Pannus injuries to the
driver who initiated the accident. But that
attempt was rejected by the Court, which
recognized that simple and inexpensive
design changes to the Land Rovers stability and roof would have prevented the
Land Rover from rolling over and would
have prevented Pannus spinal injuries. The Court awarded damages in the
amount of $21,654,000 to Pannu for his
economic and non-economic damages.
Land Rover appealed the judgment to
the California Court of Appeals. In
January of this year, the Court of Appeals
rejected every one of Land Rovers arguments and upheld the $20 million judgment. The Appellate Court found most
telling that Land Rovers own documents
supported the trial courts finding of
defect. The Appellate Court noted:
With respect to stability design,
Pannu established that the production Discovery would tip under
evasive steering maneuvers and
that slight modifications to the
track width and center of gravity of
the vehicle dramatically improved
its rollover resistance. Similarly,
modest enhancement of the roof
support of the production Discovery yielded substantial gains in
roof strength. The new improvements could be achieved at a
modest cost. Land Rover did not
rebut any of these showings. Moreover, Land Rovers senior engineer
who testified about the design goals
of the Discovery acknowledged
these modifications were available
and could have been made at the
time Pannus vehicle was manufactured.
The Appellate Court further pointed

out that Land Rovers ability to credibly
rebut this evidence was hampered by the
fact that it implemented all of these
improvements in the successor model,
the Discovery Series II. The evidence
demonstrated that Land Rover knew of
the dangers of rollover and corrected
them in the redesign of the Discovery
Series II. But the company failed to warn
of the dangers of the rollover and roof
crush to consumers who had purchased
the Discovery Series I. Incredibly, Land
Rover actually advertised that the Discovery Series I had a steel innerbody cage
and a steel roof panel, leading consumers to believe that the vehicle was a solid
car and could withstand damage.
Sadly, there are many models of this
Land Rover still out on the highways
today. Also, there are many other SUVs
with the very same unstable design and
weak roof on the road. T
he Pannu case is
a prime example of corporate indifference to design defects and the tragic consequences of those design decisions. If
you have any questions about SUVs
designed with weak roofs or SUVs that
are unstable, please contact Cole Portis,
Ben Baker, or Dana Taunton at 800-8982034 or by email at Cole.Portis@beasleyallen.com; Ben.Baker@beasleyallen.com;
or Dana.Taunton@beasleyallen.com.
XI.
MASS TORTS
UPDATE
More Than $900 Million Set Aside For
DePuy Lawsuits
Johnson & Johnson, the DePuy hip
replacement manufacturer, has set aside
$922 million to cover litigation costs. In
its fourth quarter earnings, the company
said its DePuy Orthopaedics subsidiary
faces a growing number of suits over its
ASR hip replacements. While the amount
set aside will involve this money for settlements, in our opinion it wont be
enough to satisfy all claims.
DePuy, an Indiana-based division of
Johnson & Johnson, recalled the ASR hip
system on August 26, 2010 after hundreds
17
of patients complained to the Food and

Drug Administration that the device
failed soon after implantation. The lawsuits seek redress for severe injuries,
debilitating pain, severe inflammation of
surrounding tissue and bone, loss of
mobility and the need for surgery to
remove and replace the ASR hip implant
devices. As we have previously reported,
the more than 100 hip recall lawsuits
were recently consolidated in the U.S.
District Court for the Northern District of
Ohio for pretrial proceedings.
There will be more cases filed in the
near future. As we reported last month,
Navan Ward, a lawyer in our Mass Torts
Section, was selected for membership on
the committee in charge of the MDL litigation. If you need more information on
this litigation, contact Navan at 800-8982034 or by email at Navan.Ward@beasleyallen.com.
Pennsylvania Appellate Court Affirms

Punitive Damages Against Wyeth
An appellate court in Pennsylvania last
month handed down a significant
opinion in a hormone therapy case that is
favorable to consumers. The courts 55page opinion decides and clarifies several
issues involving Pennsylvania law. The
case involved a woman diagnosed with
breast cancer after taking Wyeths drug
PremPro for 18 months. At trial, the jury
returned a Plaintiffs verdict of $1.5
million in actual damages and $8.6
million in punitive damages. The judge
who tried the case denied Wyeths post
trial motions for JNOV on causation and
damages and issued a written opinion
supporting its granting of Wyeths motion
for Judgment Notwithstanding Verdict
(JNOV) as to the award of punitive
damages. The trial judge later died and
the case was assigned to another judge
who granted Wyeths supplemental
motion for JNOV as to actual damages.
The appellate court clarified what evidence would be required to overcome
Pennsylvanias learned intermediary
doctrine. In general, the doctrine requires
the Plaintiff to prove that, if the Defendant had issued a proper warning to the
Plaintiffs doctor, the doctor would have
18
altered his behavior and the injury would

have been avoided. T his doctrine has
been the law in Pennsylvania for many
years, but its application has been
unclear. In this case, the doctor testified
that he would pass on any significant
warnings given to him by the manufacturer and allow the Plaintiff to make the
ultimate decision as to whether or not to
take the drug. The Plaintiff testified at
trial that had she been told about the risk
of breast cancer she would not have
taken the drug.
The appellate court found that evidence at trial was sufficient to show
proximate cause between the lack of an
adequate warning and the injury. T he
court also found that a medical doctor is
not required to give expert testimony
about the inadequacy of a drugs
label. The Plaintiffs expert was found to
be qualified to offer such opinions based
on her education, training and experience with the pharmaceutical industry.
Finally, and most significantly, the
appellate court reversed the trial courts
JNOV order relating to punitive
damages. The court found there was sufficient evidence to support the jurys
finding that Wyeths motives were evil
or its actions were done with reckless
indifference to the rights of others. The
court rejected Wyeths argument that
simply complying with FDA regulations
precluded punitive damages. Instead, the
court found that Plaintiff had presented
significant evidence that Wyeth should
have known from the mid-1970s that
more studies were needed to understand
the true risk its drug presented and it
refused to undertake even one such
study. The court also clarified that the
case of BMW v. Gore was never intended
to limit the amount a jury could award in
punitive damages against a Defendant for
the Defendants conduct within the state.
In this case, Wyeth is a Pennsylvania corporation and its evil or reckless
conduct all occurred in Pennsylvania. The fact that the Plaintiff and her
doctor lived in Arkansas was found to be
immaterial. If you need more information
on this matter contact Russ Abney at
800-898-2034 or by email at Russ.
Abney@beasleyallen.com.
An Increase In Dilantin Lawsuits

There has been a significant increase
in litigation filed over the anti-seizure
drug Dilantin. Dozens of suits have been
filed alleging that it causes horrendous
and life-threatening skin burns. The suits
allege that the drug, used to treat epilepsy and in hospitals and emergency
rooms to prevent seizures following
head injuries, causes Stevens Johnson
Syndrome (SJS) and its more severe
counterpart, Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis
(TEN), where a patients skin literally
burns off. These conditions can also lead
to blindness, internal organ damage and
sometimes death.
The lawsuits name Pfizer, the maker of
Dilantin, as a Defendant, in addition to
eight manufacturers of the generic
version phenytoin, including Mylan Pharmaceuticals and Baxter Healthcare. Thus
far no cases have made it to trial. But
Pfizer has settled several cases for confidential amounts.
Dilantin has been on the market since
the 1930s, prescribed as an anti-seizure
drug for epileptics. The drug is also used
as a precautionary measure against seizures for people who suffer head injuries.
In some cases, it has been prescribed as a
pain reliever for severe headaches when
other drugs dont work. An FDA safety
notice issued on November 24, 2008 first
alerted lawyers to the problems with the
drug.
Steven Johnson Syndrome typically
starts with flu-like symptoms and then
develops into a rash and burning of the
skin, internal organs and mucosal areas,
such as the eyes and throat, often causing
blindness and liver failure. It cooks a
person from the inside out and its worse
than third degree burns. A patient develops the more severe Toxic Epidermal
Necrolysis when 30% or more of the persons skin burns off. The rare disease is
estimated to affect 1,400 out of 1 million
children and 900 out of 1 million adults,
according to one study. African Americans and Asian Americans are particularly
susceptible to the disease. T
his is thought
to be because of a gene in certain people
that kicks their immune system into overdrive when metabolizing the drug, killing
off healthy skin cells at a fast rate.
There is a recognized genetic propensity for Asian and African Americans that
put them at a higher risk than people of
other ethnic backgrounds. With only a
handful of drugs that cause the condition,
SJS and TEN are always caused by drugs.
If a patient only has Dilantin in their
system, its a pretty strong case of specific
causation.
On the question of general causation, I
understand that Pfizers own expert
medical director and the former director
of the American Dermatological Association have admitted that Dilantin causes
SJS and TEN. It appears that Pfizer knew
about the increased risks of SJS and TEN,
but failed to warn of the risks. It should
be noted that labels on the drugs sold in
countries such as Canada, the Czech
Republic and the Netherlands contain
stronger warnings, with those labels
warning doctors and patients directly, by
way of a patient insertion leaflet, that the
drug carries a higher risk of SJS and TEN
for black people.
Why would the company use a stronger warning in other countries, but fail to
provide similar warnings in the United
States, where those affected populations
are much larger? Pfizer has changed its
label on its oral Dilantin medication to
include warnings to doctors about higher
risks to black patients, but it does not
warn patients directly. T hus far, the
change has not been made on the tablet
or IV forms of the drug.
Alternative anti-seizure drugs in the
U.S. contain stronger warning labels than
Dilantin. For example, the anti-seizure
drug Lamictal contains a black box
warning that specifically warns against
use in children unless a doctor thinks it is
necessary. It also warns about the higher
risk in certain ethnic subpopulations, recommending a blood test for those groups
before taking the drug. Dilantin should
clearly have the same warnings.
Fixodent Denture Cream Users Sue

Proctor & Gamble
A class action lawsuit involving Fixodent denture cream has been filed
against Proctor & Gamble. Two former
denture cream users are saying that the
company has manufactured a product

that made them extremely ill. Its alleged
that the cause was the products use of
zinc. Mark Jacoby, a construction worker
who wore dentures for 20 years, told
ABC News that he believes his debilitating neurological illness is due to the high
zinc content in his Fixodent. A nne
Coffman claims that the product caused
numbness in her limbs. Ms. Coffman was
eventually diagnosed with zinc poisoning, a condition in which high zinc levels
interfere with the bodys absorption of
copper, which can lead to irreversible
neurological problems.
Both Jacoby and Coffman, Plaintiffs in
the class action lawsuit against Proctor &
Gamble, use wheelchairs now. T here
have been previous studies linking
denture users with neurological disease.
Dr. Sharon Nations, author of a study in
the jour nal Neurolog y told ABC
News:They had high zinc levels that we
could measure in the blood. And all of
them reported that they were using very
large amounts of denture cream.
In 2009, Proctor & Gamble added a
warning label to its Fixodent packaging,
warning that prolonged zinc intake may
be linked to adverse health effects.
Proctor & Gamble says it will defend the
lawsuits and told ABC News that its Fixodent formula has undergone extensive
scientific testing, and that it continuously
monitors for its safe use. Fixodent hasnt
been the only denture cream to use zinc.
Last June, the drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline, the makers of Super Poligrip,
announced that it would remove zinc
from its products in the U.S. T hat
company has also been sued with allegations of nerve damage.
Source: New York Daily News
Court Upholds $1.5 Million Verdict In

Hernia Patch Test Case
that the Composix Kugel Mesh hernia

patch had been negligently designed by
Davol, Inc., a division of C.R. Bard. On this
point, Judge Lisi wrote:
It is clear that [the experts] ultimate
conclusion would have carried
more weight, had it been supported
by general acceptance or peer
reviewed literature. However, the reasoning and methodology by which
he arrived at his ultimate conclusion were sufficiently grounded in
scientific knowledge and supported
by factual evidence, thus making his
testimony admissible.
The Plaintiff suffered an abdominal
wall abscess and fistula when two plastic
rings on his hernia repair patch broke. He
sued Davol under North Carolina product
liability law, alleging that the rings should
have been made stronger to resist the
stresses of the healing process, in particular the contraction of scar tissue. There
are approximately 2,500 hernia patch
lawsuits currently pending in state and
federal court in Rhode Island, the home
of Davol. The Thorpe case was selected
for the second bellwether trial after being
consolidated in multi-district litigation
under Judge Lisi in U.S. District Court for
the District of Rhode Island. T
he first bellwether trial resulted in a Defense verdict.
Last August, a jury found for the Plaintiff, awarding $1.3 million for his injuries
and $200,000 to his wife. While the
appeals court ruling denies Davol a new
trial and upholds the amount of the
verdict, Judge Lisi said that there was
insufficient evidence to find Davol liable
based on the alternative ground of inadequate warning. A lso, no evidence was
found by the court to justify punitive
damages under North Carolina law.
A federal judge in Rhode Island has

denied a motion for a new trial in the
second bellwether case in the Kugel
mesh hernia patch litigation. In early February, Judge Mary M. Lisi upheld a $1.5
million jury verdict in the case. The judge
concluded that expert testimony presented by Christopher Thorpe, the Plaintiff, was admissible and sufficient to show
19
XII.
BUSINESS
LITIGATION
Texas Jury Orders J&J To Pay $482
Million In Patent Lawsuit
A federal jury in Texas ordered Johnson
& Johnson and a subsidiary to pay $482
million in damages last month to an
inventor. It was claimed in the lawsuit
that the health care giant infringed on the
Plaintiffs patent for a cardiac stent. As
you may know, heart stents are mesh-wire
tubes that prop open coronary arteries
after surgery to remove fatty plaque. The
dispute centered over Cordis Cypher
drug-eluting stents, which release a drug
to help keep arteries from becoming
blocked.
Bruce Saffran, a doctor from Princeton,
N.J., sued the two companies in 2007. He
claims the Cypher stents infringed on his
1997 patent covering technology to
deliver injury-healing medication inside
the body. Jurors concluded Dr. Saffran
proved that the Cypher stents infringed
on his patent and that Johnson & Johnson
and Cordis did so willfully. This allowed
the court to potentially triple the amount
of damages.
Johnson & Johnson says it will ask the
judge to overturn this verdict. If that is
unsuccessful, the company says it will
appeal the verdict. In 2008, another
federal jury awarded Dr. Saffran $431.9
million in his patent infringement lawsuit
against Boston Scientific Corp. The trial
judge later raised the amount to $501
million. The company agreed in 2009 to
pay $50 million to settle that dispute.
Now a second jury has found that Dr. Saffrans patent was valid and willfully
infringed upon. It was found that the
patent constituted a significant medical
advancement allowing the development
of the drug-eluting cardiac stent. Paul
R. Taskier, a lawyer with Dickstein
Shapiro in Washington, D.C., represented
Dr. Saffran and did a very good job.
20
Court Throws Out $11.5 Million

Arbitration Award
Citigroup Inc. won a victory over the
actor Larry Hagman last month when a
judge threw out an arbitration award
against the bank for over $11 million in
damages. Hagman, the actor who played
J.R. Ewing in the 1980s TV show Dallas,
had accused Citigroup of breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract. Last
year, an arbitration panel of FINRA, a selfregulatory body of the U.S. financial
industry, awarded $10 million in punitive
damages that Citigroup was to pay to
charities selected by Hagman. The actor
was awarded $1.1 million in compensatory damages and $440,000 in legal fees.
But a ruling by Los Angeles Superior
Court Judge Michelle Rosenblatt vacated
the arbitration award, in part because one
of the arbitrators was a Plaintiff in a
similar type of legal action and failed to
disclose it. It had been claimed by the
actor that Citigroup changed his investment portfolio so that it was tilted toward
equities, as opposed to fixed income and
cash, causing heavy losses. It was also
claimed that the bank sold Hagman a life
insurance policy he couldnt afford. The
Courts decision can be appealed.
Allstate Sues JPMorgan Over

Mortgage Securities Losses
Allstate Corp. has filed suit against JPMorgan Chase & Co. T
o recover losses after
the bank allegedly misrepresented the
risks on more than $757 million of mortgage securities the insurer bought. The
lawsuit against the second-largest U.S.
bank was filed just seven weeks after Allstate filed a similar lawsuit against Bank
of America Corp., the largest U.S. bank,
over losses on more than $700 million of
mortgage securities. The latest lawsuit
was filed in the New York State Supreme
Court in Manhattan.
Allstate, the largest publicly-traded U.S.
home and auto insurer, is one of many to
sue lenders for allegedly misleading them
about mortgage securities. The Northbrook, Ill.-based company said it suffered
significant losses after JPMorgan and its
affiliates misled it into believing it was
buying highly-rated, safe securities
backed by high-quality loans. A llstate

alleges that the Defendants knew the
pool was a toxic mix of loans given to
borrowers that could not afford the properties, and thus were highly likely to
default. The securities include many
backed by Bear Stearns Cos., which was
near collapse before JPMorgan bought it
in May 2008, and Washington Mutual Inc.,
which failed and whose bank operations
were bought by JPMorgan four months
later. Each of those companies was
heavily exposed to subprime and other
risky mortgages.
Allstate said most of the securities it
bought from the various Defendants
started out with triple-A ratings, the
same carried by U.S. government debt,
but that 97% now carr y junk
ratings. The insurer is seeking to undo
the securities purchases, which took
place between 2004 and 2007, and seeks
in addition unspecified damages. JPMorgan in January said it set aside an additional $1.5 billion for legal reserves,
mainly to cover mortgage-related litigation.
It should be noted that JPMorgan also
faces a $6.4 billion lawsuit by the courtappointed trustee seeking money for
victims of Bernard Madoff s Ponzi
scheme. T
he bank was Madoffs principal
banker for more than 20 years. JPMorgan
has denied wrongdoing in all of the cases.
XIII.
PREDATORY
LENDING
Payday Lenders Class Action Ban
Violates Public Policy
If you havent already figured it out by
now, I dont have much use for the
payday lending industry. The companies
making up this industry have a history of
preying on folks who are in great financial need and arent capable of defending
themselves. T he industry is making a
financial killing on the backs of these
folks and that shouldnt be tolerated. The
following will give you an example of
how the pay-day lenders operate.
Tiffany Kelly took out a small loan from

McKenzie Check Advance, a pay-day
lender doing business in Florida. In so
doing, Ms. Kelly believed she was dealing
with a legitimate business, which would
treat her fairly. A co-worker had told her
about McKenzie. Ms. Kelly, then a 24-yearold single mother, was in desperate need
of quick cash to make ends meet. She had
been turned down for public assistance
and her bank would not lend her any
money. In other words, this woman was
easy prey for a pay-day lender.
Unfortunately, Ms. Kelly was dead
wrong about the lender. McKenzie was in
fact charging its customers interest rates
that far exceeded Floridas laws. But
when she learned about McKenzies
illegal practice and wanted to file a
lawsuit, the company said it couldnt be
sued. You see, McKenzie had an arbitration clause and a class action ban tucked
away in its consumer contract signed by
Ms. Kelly. Thats when Public Justice got
involved.
Representing a number of local consumers who had taken out loans from
McKenzie, Senior Attorney Paul Bland at
Public Justice got involved and contested the ban. The testimony of several
prominent Florida lawyers, each wellversed in consumer law, was presented
to the court. These lawyers each testified that it would be virtually impossible
for an individual to find representation
in a payday loan case without the availability of a class action. Because payday
loan cases are complex, time consuming,
and involve small amounts, individual
Plaintiffs are unable to obtain competent legal counsel without being able to
use a class action. In the appeal, Amy
Radon, a Goldberg lawyer, was the principal author of Public Justices brief and
she did a great job.
The legal team in this matter consisted
of Paul Bland, Amy Radon, Clayton Yates
of Yates & Mancini, LLC in Fort Pierce,
Fla.; Theodore J. Leopold and Diana L.
Martin of Leopold-Kuvin in Palm Beach
Gardens, Fla.; Christopher Casper of
James, Hoyer, Newcomer, Smiljanich &
Yanchunis P.A. in Tampa, Fla.; and Richard
Fisher in Cleveland, Tenn. All of these
lawyers did excellent work and obtained
a great result for consumers and espe-
cially those who deal with payday

lenders.
Source: PublicJustice.net
million. The companies will pay an additional $350,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by
the Moores children.
Source: SFGate.com
XIV.
PREMISES
LIABILITY UPDATE
The Widow Of A Firefighter Settles
Her Wrongful Death Lawsuit
The widow of one of two Contra Costa
County, Calif., firefighters who died in a
2007 house fire has settled her wrongfuldeath lawsuit against two security companies for $4.6 million. The companies
were blamed for mishandling the initial
report of the blaze. The fire in San Pablo
killed Fire Engineer Scott Desmond and
Capt. Matt Burton. It also killed the
homes residents, Delbert and Gayle
Moore.
The suit was filed in Contra Costa
County Superior Court in 2008. It was
alleged that Pinnacle Security of Utah and
its subcontractor Security Associates
International of Illinois were to blame for
the firefighters deaths. When the fire
broke out early July 21, 2007, Security
Associates received an automatic smoke
alarm from the home. A company
employee activated a two-way intercom
at the home and asked, Is everything
OK? Gayle Moore responded, No, we
have a fire.
The employee called the Contra Costa
County Fire Protection District on a nonemergency line and said, Im calling to
report a fire alarm, as opposed to an
actual fire, the suit said. Apparently, that
led the fire dispatcher to consider it a
lower-priority call. A t one point, the
employee was put on hold for five
minutes while the dispatcher answered
emergency calls and the fire intensified
and grew larger in the Moore home.
It was nearly ten minutes after Gayle
Moore spoke to the alarm company
before firefighters were dispatched to the
scene. Only one engine was initially dispatched with Desmond and Burton
aboard. Pinnacle Security will pay $2.6
million to Desmonds family, and Security
Associates International will pay $2
Florida Homeowners Settle Bombing

Range Lawsuit For $1.2 Million
Homeowners in a Florida subdivision
have settled a class action lawsuit against
a homebuilder for $1.2 million. The settlement was reached last month with The
Ryland Group. It was alleged in the
lawsuit that the builder failed to disclose
that the homes were built on or near the
Pinecastle Jeep Range, a World War II-era
bombing range in Orlando. Residents said
their home values plummeted after live
bombs and other munitions were found
on the property. The settlement will be
divided among 118 homeowners.
XV.
WORKPLACE
HAZARDS
Federal Appeals Court Revives Lawsuit
In Colombia Coal Killings
A federal appeals court has reviewed a
lawsuit accusing an Alabama coal
company of responsibility in the killings
of three union leaders in Colombia in
2001. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals
reversed a lower court judges ruling that
had dismissed the lawsuit against Drummond Company Inc. The company has
consistently denied any involvement in
the killings. The lawsuit was filed by relatives of the men, who were killed. The
trial court ruled that the Plaintiffs didnt
have standing to file suit in Alabama. But
the three-judge appellate panel sent the
case back to the trial judge, finding that
the Plaintiffs clearly have a stake in the
controversy. It will be interesting to see
how this case winds up.
21
Families Of six Workers Killed In Blast

Sue Refinery In Washington
Relatives of six of the seven workers
killed in an April 2010 explosion and fire
at Tesoro Corp.s Anacortes, Wash., oil
refinery have filed a wrongful death
lawsuit. The lawsuit filed in a state court
alleges the company deliberately ignored
dangerous conditions that led to the
blast. A contractor who was burned, but
survived, joined the families in the
lawsuit.
The lawsuit accuses Tesoro of failing to
inspect decaying equipment and ignoring
industry safety standards and federal laws
governing refinery safety. Washington
state Department of Labor & Industries
investigators determined the explosion
was preventable. The department fined
Tesoro $2.39 million. San Antonio, Texasbased Tesoro has appealed the fine.
Rash Of Accidents Puts Spotlight On

Grain Elevators
Recent high-profile accident cases have
put a regulatory spotlight on grain elevators. Recent elevator incidents in Colorado and South Dakota are among a
number of cases filed nationwide. There
have been 89 fatalities reported to OSHA
involving grain elevators nationwide
since 2009, including 40 engulfments, 32
falls and seven dust explosions. These
accidents have triggered increased
concern by the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration. Currently, OSHA
has four safety inspections checking elevators in North Dakota and South Dakota.
OSHA has done ten inspections in North
Dakota and ten in South Dakota in its first
emphasis year for grain elevators. It
expects to do 20 to 30 per year through
its Bismarck-area office. Inspections can
be triggered by complaints from current
employees or other agencies. If there is a
fatality, or if three people have been hospitalized within eight hours, there also is
an automatic inspection.
Effective October 1, 2010, OSHA
imposed a new penalty structure that
largely doubles penalties. There havent
been any changes for about 40 years. T
he
penalty levels have been changed
because there isnt the deterrent of
22
earlier penalties. T he agency also

extended the time frame under which
the penalties could be considered a
repeat penalty. Further, the agency
changed its schedule for offering adjustments to the penalties based on size.
Small elevators, with one to 25 employees, for example, used to get a 60% discount and now are eligible for a 40%
discount.
Elevator employees cannot be in the
bin where there is an unguarded sweep
auger, where an employee could be
exposed to the auger. New rules regarding bin entry, especially when employees
go in to free grain that has become stuck
or frozen are in place. OSHA has indicated that if anyone dies in a grain
storage facility in a bin entry issue, and
that incident is related to workers entering storage bins, the agency will go
beyond civil penalties and consider referring the incident to the Department of
Justice for criminal prosecution. Several
North Dakota firms have received letters
on the topic. OSHA is not the only
agency involved. T he Food and Drug
Administration, the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency, have increased their interest
in the industry.
XVI.
TRANSPORTATION
Jury Awards $49 Million In California
Freeway Lawsuit
A California jury awarded more than
$49 million last month in a lawsuit arising
out of a freeway accident that killed one
man and left a California Highway Patrol
officer a quadriplegic. The jury awarded
$39 million in damages to the CHP
Officer and his wife for paralyzing injuries the officer suffered in the December
2007 crash. T he officer had pulled a
motorist over on U.S. Highway 101 when
a man driving a truck slammed into them,
killing the motorist. T he decedents
parents were awarded $10.2 million by
the jury for the loss of their son. The
truck driver pleaded guilty to driving
while intoxicated and transporting mari-
juana. He was sentenced in 2008 to 15

years in prison.
Another Crosswalk Lawsuit Settled In

Seattle
A 45-year-old Seattle woman, struck by
a Metro bus while she was in a crosswalk
on Seattles Alaskan Way in 2008, has
reached a $4.5 million settlement with
King County. The settlement between
Ree Ah Bloedow and the county was
reached two weeks before the case was
scheduled for trial. Ms. Bloedow lost her
career as a staff attorney for the State
Department of Social and Health Services
because of the brain injury she suffered
in the accident. She was crossing a public
street in January 2008 when she was
struck by a mirror on the bus. In addition
to the brain injury, her arm was shattered. The settlement will not only pay
for needed medical care, but also lost
wages because she had to leave her
job. The lawsuit was filed in early 2009
and was set to go to trial on February
14th.
Ms. Bloedow was walking in a clearlymarked crosswalk and the bus driver
wasnt paying attention. T he County
admitted it was at fault and accepted
responsibility for the accident. T his
wasnt the largest settlement Metro has
paid in an injury claim. A year ago it
agreed to pay $7 million to settle a
lawsuit filed by a woman severely injured
when a Metro Transit supervisors van
struck her while she was riding a Vespa
scooter to work. Jack Connelly, a lawyer
in Tacoma, Wash., represented Ms.
Bloedow and did a good job.
Source: Seattle Times
Jury Awards Family $2 Million In

Wrongful Death Case
A jury in California awarded $2 million
to the family of a woman killed in an accident at the intersection of two state highways in Madera County on July 5,
2008. The jury found that the intersection was a dangerous condition of public
property. The case arose out of an accident that claimed the life of Suzanna
Coronado. Mrs. Coronado and her
husband Michael, who survived the accident, were riding a motorcycle southbound on one of the highways when a
driver, Alexander Huerta, pulled out from
an intersecting highway. Huerta was
driving a GMC Envoy pulling a trailer
with a vehicle on it. When Mr. Coronado
came around a curve on the downhill
grade, the Huerta vehicle was completely
obstructing his lane of travel. As a result,
the motorcycle went down.
Mrs. Coronados four children and her
husband sued the State of California
Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
alleging that the intersection where the
accident occurred was in a dangerous
condition on the day of the accident and
that Caltrans had notice of a lengthy
history of broadside-patterned accidents
at the intersection. Caltrans implemented
a safety improvement project at the intersection in the summer of 2009. Failure to
act by Caltrans until the improvements in
2009, despite its knowledge of the significant accident history, was found to be
unreasonable. Paul A. Matiasic and Scott L.
Johnson, lawyers from San Francisco, represented the Coronado family and they
did a very good job.
Source: Sierrastar.com
$5 Million Jury Verdict Against

Insurance Company In Alabama
Frank Shepard Jr., who was badly
injured in a traffic accident in Washington County, Ala., more than two years
ago, was awarded $5 million by a jury
last month. Shephard sued the insurance
company of his employer, Shred-it. It was
contended that Auto-Owners Insurance,
which had the uninsured motorist coverage on the company vehicle, should
cover his damages, to include medical
costs, mental anguish, and pain and suffering. Shepard settled with the estate of
the other driver, who was killed in the
crash, for $2.25 million. T his was the
maximum amount available under the
liability insurance policy. The amount of
the settlement will be deducted from the
jurys verdict. Thus, Auto-Owners Insurance is responsible for $2.75 million. The
claim that went to trial was for the
underinsured motorist coverage under
Alabama law.
The wreck occurred on December 3,

2008, as Shepard was on his way to
Waynesboro, Miss., to meet a Shred-It customer. An automobile driven by Beverly
King Johnson appeared from behind a
hill, in the wrong lane, and collided
head-on with Shepards truck. Johnson
was fatally injured. The sole issue at trial
related to damages. T he crash broke
Shephards leg in two places, fractured
his foot, shattered his jaw and broke or
damaged 24 of his 28 teeth. The impact
was so powerful that some of Shepards
teeth went through his jaw and into his
neck. It was reported that Shepard has
made good progress, but that he has a
long recovery ahead of him. He has
already had three surgeries on his jaw
and will need multiple dental procedures.
Mike Windom and Desi Tobias, lawyers
from Mobile, tried the case along with
Tom Baxter, a former Washington County
Circuit judge. They did a very good job
for their client.
Source: Mobile Press-Register
XVII.
HEALTHCARE
ISSUES
Public Citizen Is Far Ahead Of FDA On
The Safety Of Drugs
The record of Public Citizen relating to
the safety of drugs in the United States
has been very good. In fact, if the FDA
had listened to the early warnings from
Public Citizen, lots of dangerous drugs
would have been off the market much
sooner than turned out to be the case.
For example, Public Citizen warned the
diet drug Meridia was dangerous for
safety reasons and should be withdrawn
in 1998. The drug was finally withdrawn
from the U.S. market on October 10, 2010
because, just as Public Citizen had
warned, it caused an increase in heart
attacks and strokes. It shouldnt have
taken the FDA over 12 years to heed the
warnings.
There have been at least 20 drugs that
were approved by the FDA after 1992
which were subsequently withdrawn
from the market for safety reasons. I have
often wondered how things would be if

the FDA had been given the authority
and funding and independence to truly
regulate the pharmaceutical companies.
Public Citizen has done a better job of
protecting the public on dangerous drugs
than has the FDA. If you want more information on this subject go to www.worstpills.org.
Public Citizens Nine Rules For Safer

Drug Use
I have a great deal of confidence in
Public Citizens knowledge and expertise
when it comes to drugs. Public Citizen
has 9 rules for safer drug use that are
found in the February 2011 issue of
Worst Pill, Best Pills News. This publication is described as Your expert, independent second opinion for prescription
drug information. Dr. Sidney M. Wolfe, a
person with no ties to the powerful pharmaceutical industry, is the editor. I am
passing along these rules for your consideration. Take a look. Perhaps you will
agree they are good rules to follow.
Make sure drug therapy is really
needed.
If drug therapy is indicated, in most
cases (especially in older adults) it is
safer to start with a dose that is lower
than the usual adult dose.
When starting a new drug, see if it is
possible to discontinue another drug.
Regularly talk to your doctor about
stopping your drugs.
Find out if you are having any adverse
drug reactions.
Assume that any new symptom you
develop after starting a new drug was
caused by the drug.
Before leaving your doctors office or
pharmacy, make sure the instructions
for taking your medicine are clear to
you and a family member or friend.
Discard all old drugs carefully.
Ask your primary doctor to coordinate
your care and drug use.
23
If you would like to have comprehensive, up-to-date drug information and

insight on drug risks and safety you can
subscribe to the Public Citizen publication at www.worstpills.org.
EPA To Set Limits On Chemicals In

Drinking Water
The Environmental Protection Agency

says it will be setting a limit on the
amount of the chemical perchlorate, as
well as other toxic contaminants, in
drinking water. The national regulation
FDA Issues First Reportable Food
on perchlorate will reverse a 2008 deciRegistry Report
sion made by the Bush Administration. It
In its first report on its new Reportable comes after EPA Administrator Lisa
Food Registry, the Food and Drug Admin- Jackson ordered agency scientists to
istration announced that Salmonella and review the emerging science of perchlofood allergens were the most common rate, which is both a naturally-occurring
food hazards reported by those in the and man-made chemical. According to
food industry. The registry was set up the EPA, its used in fireworks, road flares,
under the FDA Food Safety Moderniza- rocket fuel and may be present in bleach
tion Act, which was recently signed into and some fertilizers. Research has indilaw. Under the Act, manufacturers, proces- cated that it can impact the thyroid and
sors, packers and holders of FDA-regu- disrupt the proper development of
lated foods are required to report safety fetuses and infants. Some states have
problems that could result in serious already established limits on perchlorate
health consequences to humans or in drinking water, but thus far there is no
animals to the FDA in a timely manner. national standard.
These reports provide early warning to
Monitoring data shows more than 4%
the FDA about potential public health of public water systems have detected
risks and help ensure that dangerous perchlorate, and between 5 and 17
foods are removed from commerce when million people may be served drinking
necessary.
water containing it, according to the EPA.
According to FDA officials, the first Once the EPA proposes a formal rule, it
report, which consists of about 2,200 will be subject to the public comment
entries, showed that the registry was suc- process. In addition, the EPA is also estabcessful. This report is a measure of our lishing a drinking water standard on a
success in receiving early warning on group of up to 16 other toxic chemicals
problems with food and feed, said FDA that may cause cancer and pose serious
Deputy Commissioner for Foods Michael risks to human health.
Taylor, in a statement. The data in this
The chemicals are a group of volatile
report represents an important tool for organic compounds, such as industrial
targeting our inspection resources, bring- solvents, and include trichloroethylene
ing high risk commodities into focus, and and tetrachloroethylene, along with other
driving positive change in industry prac- regulated and some unregulated subticesall of which will better protect the stances discharged from industrial operapublic health.
tions. The move is part of a Drinking
Salmonella accounted for 37.6% of Water Strategy laid out by Jackson last
hazards, while undeclared allergens or year, the agency said. T he strategy
intolerances accounted for 34.9%, accord- included addressing contaminants as a
ing to the report. Salmonella was most group so that their presence in drinking
commonly found in spices and season- water could be addressed cost-effecings, raw agricultural produce, animal tively. It will be interesting to see how
feed and pet food, and nut and seed prod- the strategy works out.
ucts. Food allergens were most com- Source: CNN
monly detected in bakery goods, dried
fruit and vegetable products, prepared
foods, dairy items and candy.
24
XVIII.
ENVIRONMENTAL
CONCERNS
Magistrate Judge Makes
Recommendations In TVA Coal Ash
Cases
In late January, U.S. Magistrate Judge
Bruce Guyton sent a report to U.S. District Judge Thomas Varlan on the Plaintiffs motion for class certification in the
TVA coal ash case that our firm is
involved in. Judge Guytons report recommended that the District Court should
deny the Plaintiffs motion because a class
action trial format did not appear to be
the most practical and efficient means of
resolving all of the litigation surrounding
the December 22, 2008, coal ash spill and
resulting environmental disaster at the
TVA power plant in Kingston, Tenn.
Instead, Judge Guyton recommended that
the cases should proceed individually,
though perhaps in a consolidated trial.
Because the District Court will have to
adopt the Magistrates recommendations
before it becomes a final ruling, the Plaintiffs have submitted their objections to
the Magistrates report. A mong other
things, the Plaintiffs argued that class certification would streamline the overall
legal process and eliminate the need to
try the same factual and legal issues in
numerous individual trials. Should Judge
Varlan choose to accept the Magistrates
recommendations and deny class certification, this will be a procedural ruling
aimed only at the management of the
overall litigation. In other words, the
ruling would not address the merits of
the Plaintiffs claims or prevent them
from going forward with their individual
cases.
We are hopeful that the District Court
will issue its decision on the magistrates
report in the next few weeks. In the
meantime, lawyers in our firm remain
confident that TVA and its co-Defendants
will be held responsible for the collapse
of the coal ash impoundment at the
Kingston facility and the release of more
than 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash
sludge into the Emory River and surrounding private properties. If you need
more information on this development,

contact David Byrne, one of the lawyers
from our firm who is handling this case,
at 800-898-2034 or by email at David.
Byrne@beasleyallen.com.
Alabama Governor Acts Properly On

Landfills
Gov. Robert Bentley has signed Executive Order 8 which places a moratorium
on new landfill permits in Alabama until
stricter environmental guidelines for
larger facilities can be adopted. A group
opposing a landfill proposed for a 5,100acre tract in Conecuh County praised the
action. Some parts of Alabama, especially
in rural areas, have become a dumping
ground for America.
Under the order, landfills accepting
more than 1,500 tons of waste a day and
which are 500 or more acres in size
should adhere to stricter rules due to a
larger area of impact. Currently, landfill
developers need only make application
in any county and get approval from
elected commissioners. It was reported
that if no vote takes place within 90 days
of the application, the application is automatically approved. The order calls on
the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, Alabama Department of
Public Health and the Solid Waste Advisory Committee to adopt and promulgate
new rules for larger landfills. This certainly appears to have been a good move
by the Governor.
Source: al.com
XIX.
THE CONSUMER
CORNER
Class Action Lawsuits Filed Against
Navistar and Ford
Our firm has filed class action lawsuits
in five states against Navistar and Ford
Motor Company seeking damages for
owners and leasees of vehicles that are
equipped with the 6.0 Liter Powerstroke diesel engine. T he lawsuits
contend the 6.0 Liter engines are defective in several respects.
Beginning in the fall of 2002, Ford

began selling certain F-series trucks
which included the 6.0 Liter Powerstroke diesel engine which was offered
in Fords medium and heavy duty pickup
trucks and its discontinued Ford Excursion SUV. The 6.0 Liter Powerstroke
diesel engine was first introduced in
Fords 2003 models and continued to be
offered in the 2004, 2005, and some 2006
models. Navistar designed and manufactured the 6.0 Liter diesel engine. These
engines have been plagued with what
Ford has called unprecedented problems since inception and subsequent
design changes have failed to correct or
rectify the problems.
In fact, on January 11, 2007 Ford filed a
suit in Michigan state court against Navistar seeking contribution for the significant warranty costs Ford was incurring in
having to repair, replace, or repurchase
significant numbers of Ford trucks
equipped with the engines. In that
lawsuit, Ford admitted that the 6.0 Liter
engine has the highest repair rates of any
engine Ford has put into widespread distribution. Ford also alleged it had
incurred eight hundred and eighty seven
million ($887,000,000.00) in warranty
bills for 6.0 Liter repairs.
Despite representing only ten percent
(10%) of Fords total engine volume, the
6.0 Liter accounts for approximately
eighty percent (80%) of Fords warranty
spending on engines. Ford also claims it
was forced to dedicate a team of seventy
(70) engineers to assist Navistar to fix the
6.0 Liter engines already on the road and
to improve the quality of the 6.0 Liter
engines which were still being produced
at the time. Some of the more serious
problems encountered with these
engines include problems related to fuel
injectors, the fuel system, turbo chargers,
wiring harness troubles, numerous faulty
sensors, defective exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valves, faulty computers, and
oil leaks.
While Ford initially publicly recognized
and admitted unacceptable high warranty repair rates related to the engines
and conducted voluntary recalls, in addition to offering to buy vehicles back, the
company ultimately stopped offering to
assist consumers and even began denying
or refusing to pay warranty claims related
to the 6.0 Liter engine, often claiming the

problems were related to the user or
other factors.
State class action lawsuits have been
filed in federal courts in South Carolina,
North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, and Maine.
Bill Hopkins, who handles class action litigation for our firm, is working on the
case. If you need more information on
this matter, you can contact Bill at 800898-2034 or by email at Bill.Hopkins@
beasleyallen.com.
Ignition Coil Problem Identified On

Nearly 500,000 Volkswagen Passats
The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration has intensified its investigation into possible fire problems on
nearly 500,000 Volkswagen Passats with
4-cylinder turbo engines. The investigation covers 490,000 Passats from the
2001-7 model years. T he focus of the
investigation involves ignition coils,
which have caused trouble for the
German brand since at least 2003. The
automaker has admitted problems with
its 2001-2 4-cylinder engines. That population of vehicles appears to be covered
in the new investigation.
The coils are used to generate the highvoltage current that fires spark plugs, and
Volkswagen dedicates one coil for each
plug. On the 4-cylinder models being
investigated, there are four ignition coils.
When a coil fails, the spark plug does not
fire and the engine loses power. Last
August, NHTSA opened a so-called prel i m i n a r y e va l u a t i o n a l ow - l e ve l
inquiryinto an estimated 199,000
Passats from the 2002-3 model years. The
Administrations primary concern was
fires caused by failing ignition coils.
The NHTSA stated that additional consumer complaints and records provided
by Volkswagen indicated sufficient reason
for concern to begin a more serious
engineering analysis and greatly
increase the number of vehicles
covered. An engineering analysis brings
NHTSA a step closer to a recall, although
sometimes the Administration concludes
that its concern was not warranted after
all, in which case the investigation is
simply ended.
25
Summer Infant Inc., of Woonsocket,

R.I., is providing new on-product label
and instructions for about 1.7 million
video baby monitors with electrical
cords. The cords can present a strangulation hazard to infants and toddlers if
placed too close to a crib. Because of this
serious strangulation risk, parents and
caregivers should never place these and

other corded cameras within three feet
of a crib.
Over the past year the CPSC has
received reports of two strangulation
deaths of infants with the electrical cords
of Summer Infant video baby monitors. In
March 2010, a ten-month old girl from
Washington, D.C. strangled in her crib in
the electrical cord of a Summer Infant
video monitor. The monitor camera had
been placed on top of the crib rail. In
November 2010, the CPSC received a
report of a six-month old boy from
Conway, S.C., who strangled in the electrical cord of a baby monitor placed on
the changing table attached to the crib. In
January 2011, the CPSC learned the
product involved was a Summer Infant
video baby monitor.
CPSC and Summer Infant are also
aware of a near strangulation incident in
which a 20-month old boy from Pittsburg,
Penn., was found in his crib with the
camera cord wrapped around his
neck. The Summer Infant monitor camera
was mounted on the wall, but the child
was still able to reach the cord. Fortunately, he was freed from the cord
without serious injury. Summer Infant has
initiated a campaign to provide new onproduct labels for electric cords and
instructions to consumers with the
recalled video monitors distributed
between January 2003 and February
2011.
The baby monitors were sold at major
retailers, mass merchandisers, and juvenile products stores nationwide for
between $60 and $300. They were sold
in more than 40 different models, including handheld, digital, and color video
monitors. A ll video monitors include
both the camera (placed in the babys
room) and the hand held device (some
models have two hand-held devices) that
enable the caregiver to see and/or hear
the baby from a specific distance. The
brand Summer is found on the product.
The product was manufactured in
China. CPSC and Summer Infant urge
parents to immediately check the location of the video monitors, including
cameras mounted on the wall, and all
electric cords to make sure the cords are
out of arms reach of their child. Consum-
26
NHTSA said it had received 14 complaints of fires and another 21 complaints

of ignition coil failures that caused vehicles to suddenly lose power. Volkswagen
reported another 199 complaints,
although it was not clear how many of
those involved fires. Volkswagen, after last
Augusts preliminary-evaluation opening,
said it was cooperating with the NHTSA.
Source: New York Times
Volkswagens Under Review For FuelPump Flaws

Volkswagen AG vehicles are under
review by the U.S. National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration after reports
of engines stalls, some at highway speed,
that may be related to fuel-pump failures.
NHTSA said it has received reports of one
accident and 160 complaints from
owners and Volkswagen about engine
loss of power and stalling. The power
loss and stalling was related to high-pressure pumps failing and contaminating the
fuel system with debris, according to the
NHTSA.
According to NHTSA, about half of the
reports involved stalling with many of
these alleging stall incidents at highway
speeds in traffic with no restart. NHTSA
is reviewing model years 2009 and 2010
of the Volkswagen Jetta and Golf and the
Audi A3 that have TDI clean-diesel
engines, totaling about 97,272 vehicles. The NHTSA, which received 52 of
the complaints directly and the rest from
the automaker, has upgraded its investigation to an engineering analysis, a step that
can lead to a recall. Volkswagen says it is
cooperating with the NHTSA on this
matter.
Source: Bloomberg
Summer Infant Recalls Video Baby

Monitors With Cords
ers should contact Summer Infant tollfree at (800) 426-8627 or visit the firms
website at www.summerinfant.com/
Home/Product-Recall.aspx to receive a
new permanent electric cord warning
label about the strangulation risk and
revised instructions about how to safely
mount cameras and keep cords out of a
childs reach.
In October 2010 CPSC issued a safety
alert warning consumers that there had
been six reports of strangulation from
baby monitor cords since 2004. Since
that alert the number of death reports
has risen to seven. CPSC has revised the
safety alert Infants Can Strangle in Baby
Monitor Cords. CPSC is still interested in
receiving incident or injury reports that
are either directly related to this product
recall or involve a different hazard with
the same product. You can tell the CPSC
about it by visiting https://www.saferproducts.gov/CPSRMSPublic/Incidents/
ReportIncident.aspx.
Source: CPSC
Nearly 10,000 Babies Suffer Crib

Injuries Yearly
Almost 10,000 infants and toddlers are
hurt in crib and playpen accidents each
year, according to the first nationwide
analysis of emergency room treatment for
these injuries. Most injuries are from falls
in toddlers between ages one and two
occurring due to attempts at climbing
out of a crib or playpen. Researchers who
studied 19 years of data say better prevention efforts are needed, but that
recent safety measures including a ban
on drop-side cribs likely will reduce
those numbers.
The study found a gradual decrease in
the injury rate between 1990 and 2008.
But overall, even in the most recent years
examined, an average of 26 infants daily
were injured in crib-related accidents,
according to lead author Dr. Gary Smith,
director of the Center for Injury Research
and Policy at Nationwide Childrens Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Smith says
thats still not acceptable. The study,
released by the American Academy of
Pediatrics medical journal Pediatrics, was
timed for a U.S. House subcommittee
hearing last month on consumer product

safety issues.
The doctors group opposes loosening
crib regulations and is concerned that
the industry may seek to roll back parts
of a 2008 law. Dr. O. Marion Burton, the
Academys president, said the new study,
scientifically validated with peer review,
shows why a rollback would be unwise.
The 2008 law called for mandatory crib
standards including more rigorous safety
testing. The federal Consumer Product
Safety Commission adopted the mandate
in December, 2010, to take effect in June
of this year. It bans the manufacture and
sale of traditional drop-side cribs with
side rails that move up and down to
make it easier to place and remove
infants. The movable rails can become
partially detached, creating a gap
between the mattress and rail where
babies can get stuck. Dozens of injuries
and deaths including suffocations linked
with drop-side cribs led to the ban. As we
have previously reported, millions of
such cribs have been recalled.
The study authors analyzed national
1990-2008 data on ER-treated injuries
from the product safety commission. They focused on nonfatal injuries
related to cribs, playpens and bassinets;
information on injuries linked with specific models was not provided. Overall,
181,654 infants were injured. Most children were not hospitalized. The data also
show that there were 2,140 deaths, but
that doesnt include crib-related deaths in
children who didnt receive ER treatment.
A spokeswoman for the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association said that
her industry group supports the 2008
law, but that some provisions are overly
burdensome and need to be reexamined.
She added that crib makers adopted a
voluntary ban on drop-side models more
than a year ago and would like to see a
reasonable enforcement policy from the
safety commission. The industry group
has said that properly assembled dropside cribs that havent been recalled can
be safely used. From experience, I have
never believed that voluntary standards
by an industry work well for consumers.
Consumer Agency Warns Of

SafetyCraft Crib Dangers
A federal consumer agency has warned
that SafetyCraft brand full-size and portable drop-side cribs manufactured or distributed by Generation 2 Worldwide
contain drop-side hardware that may be
dangerous to toddlers and infants. The
Consumer Product Safety Commission
said last month that the hardware found
on SafetyCraft drop-side cribs can fail and
place infants and toddlers at risk of strangulation and suffocation. T
he CPSC urged
parents and caregivers to stop using
these cribs immediately and find an alternative, safe sleeping environment for
babies. The Commission says folks should
not attempt to fix these cribs. According
to the Commission, Generation 2 Worldwide of Dothan, Ala., ceased operations in
2005.
Source: Montgomery Advertiser
CPSC Wants To Stop Daily Table Saw

Amputations
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is calling on the power-tool industry
and the safety standards group to find out
why more hasnt been done to address a
mounting and ver y serious
problem. There have been a number of
debilitating table-saw injuries over the
years, but many safety experts say the
problem hasnt really gotten the attention
it deserves. The CPSC estimates there are
an average of about ten finger amputations a day, just from table saws used by
consumers. CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum told USA Today:
The safety of table saws needs to be
improved in a way that prevents
school children in shop class and
woodworkers from suffering these
life-altering injuries. All options are
on the table for CPSC at this time.
It was reported that Stephen Gass, who
invented technology that stops blades
when body parts are detected, persuaded
the CPSC to grant his petition for rulemaking during the Bush administration.
But it was most interesting that the CPSC
never drafted any rules. As a result, a new
vote will now be required by the Com-
mission. Theres a pattern of injury, a

safety technology that can address it, and
its affordable, according to Sally Greenberg, executive director of the National
Consumers League. The group is joining
Gass to push for a federal rule requiring
all table saws to detect flesh and stop
blades before they cut into it. The CPSC
estimates the cost to society of sawrelated injuries is about $2 billion a year.
Source: USA Today
Bank Of America Settles Overdraft

Lawsuit
Bank of America Corp. will pay $410
million to settle lawsuits accusing it of
charging customers with excessive overdraft fees. The largest U.S. bank by assets
is among the more than two dozen U.S.,
Canadian and European lenders named as
Defendants in the class action litigation,
which in 2009 consolidated lawsuits filed
across the country. JPMorgan Chase &
Co., Citigroup Inc. A nd Wells Fargo &
Co. A re among the other defendants
named in the case. Bank of America says
that it has already changed its overdraft
practices, eliminating fees for debit transactions and significantly lowering fees for
c u s t o m e r s w h o ove rd raw ex c e s sively. T he case was pending when
settled in the U.S. District Court in
Miami. T he settlement requires court
approval.
Many banks let customers overdraw
their accounts in exchange for fees, typically $25 or $35. Critics say the fees disproportionately burden lower-income
customers and others who often maintain low account balances. In a November 2009 complaint filed in the Miami
court, customers alleged that Bank of
America routinely processed debit transactions from largest to smallest rather
than in chronological order, causing
account balances to fall faster and boosting potential overdraft fees. It was
alleged further that the bank also did not
clearly tell customers they could decline
overdraft protection, and typically
charged the fees to debit card users
rather than decline transactions. T he
complaint alleges that Bank of America
customers would often rack up hundreds of dollars of overdraft fees, even
27
when they may have been overdrawn by

only a few dollars.
Overdraft fees industry-wide totaled
about $23.7 billion in 2008, up from
$10.3 billion just four years earlier,
according to the Center for Responsible
Lending. Last year the Federal Reserve
imposed a rule that prohibits banks from
charging overdraft fees on electronic and
debit card transactions without advance
customer approval. In August, a federal
judge ordered Wells Fargo to pay $203
million to California customers who complained about overdraft fees. The bank is
appealing this ruling.
smartphone device and the network

itself, it still gives critics yet more ammunition to fire at AT&T regarding the handling of the iPhone. This is not the first
time the carriers iPhone polices have
come under fire. There have been six
lawsuits filed over the companys 3G
speed claims. Last year the AT&T exclusivity agreement and it is alleged knowledge of iPhone 4 antenna problems also
were challenged in court. The Plaintiff is
asking for class action status for his suit.
Source: Reuters
XX.
RECALLS UPDATE
Source: Betanews.com
AT&T Sued Over iPhone Data Overbilling
A lawsuit has been filed against AT&T

by a California man. AT&T has been
accused of over-billing the Plaintiff on
data charges for his iPhone. T his suit
raises new questions about the carriers
billing practices. Plaintiff has alleged that
the carrier was charging him for usage
e ve n w h e n h e wa s n t u s i n g h i s
iPhone. The Plaintiff said he purchased
the $15 monthly 200MB plan. He became
suspicious after he was charged overage
fees for using 223MB worth of data
across 259 data connections. Its contended that research has revealed that
AT&T has been regularly over-billing customers by between 7% and 14% over
actual data usage, and in some cases by as
much as 300%.
While AT&Ts billing errors on an individual customer basis may not be that
large, when applied across all iPhone
customers, they will have a huge effect
on the bottom line for the company if
the Plaintiffs contentions are correct. It
is alleged that a significant portion of
data revenues were inflated by AT&Ts
rigged billing system for data transactions. A test iPhone account found that
even with all apps closed, push and location services disabled, and the device
unused, AT&T billed the account for
over 2,292KB of usage over a period of
ten days.
While it may not be out of the realm of
possibility that those phantom data
charges may be necessary between the
28
Once again, there have been a large

number of product recalls over the past
weeks. Unfortunately, as we have pointed
out, serious safety-related recalls have
become rather commonplace. The following are some of the more significant
recalls since those reported in the February issue. Readers are encouraged to
contact our firm if more information is
needed on any of the recalls. We would
also like to know if we have missed any
safety recalls that should be included in
this issue.
Toyota Recalls Over 2 Million

More Vehicles
A year after its unintended acceleration trouble began, Toyota is now
expanding its recall of floor mats to
include nearly 2.2 million more
Lexus and Toyota vehicles in the
United States. T
he automaker blames
floor mats for the recall claiming the
problem to be so-called pedal
entrapment. The company calls the
recalls voluntary, but federal regulat o r s s ay t h e y re q u e s t e d t h e
recalls. Toyota said the new models
affected include:
Lexus GS. About 20,000 2006 and
early 2007 Lexus GS 300 and GS 350
all-wheel-drive vehicles to modify
the shape of the plastic pad embedded in the driver's side floor carpet.
Lexus RX. About 372,000 2004

through 2006 and early 2007 Lexus
RX 330, RX 350 and RX 400h vehicles to replace the driver's side floor
carpet cover and retention clips.
Toyota Highlander. About 397,000
2004 through 2006 Toyota Highlander and Highlander HV vehicles
to fix floor mat issues.
Toyota 4Runner. About 603,000
2003 to 2009 4Runners to address
floor mats.
Lexus LX. About 17,000 2009 to
2011 Lexus LXs for floor mats.
Toyota RAV4. About 761,000 2006
through 2010 RAV4 to address floormat entrapment issues.
The recalls clearly show that Toyota
is still having major problems with
issues surrounding sudden unintended acceleration. Last year that
resulted in the recall of hundreds of
thousands of cars to replace floor
mats that can jam against accelerator
pedals or to replace pedal mechanisms that can stick.
On the GS, Toyota says that if the
floor carpet around the accelerator
pedal is not properly replaced after a
service operation, there is a possibility that the plastic pad embedded
into the floor carpet may jam against
the accelerator pedal. If this occurs,
the accelerator pedal may become
temporarily stuck in a partially
depressed position rather than
returning to the idle position.
Owners of the involved GS 300 and
GS 350 all-wheel-drive vehicles will
receive a notification by mail beginning in early March.
As for the RX and Highlander, Toyota
says the recall is to fix a forward
retention clip used to secure the
floor carpet cover, which is located
in front of the center console. If it is
not installed properly, the cover may
lean toward the accelerator pedal
and interfere with the accelerator
pedal arm. If this occurs, the accelerator pedal may become temporarily
stuck in a partially depressed posi-
tion rather than returning to the idle

position.
I dont believe this is the end of Toyotas SUA problems. Hopefully, I am
wrong, but usually when there is
smoke there is fire and there has
been too much smoke relating to
the electronics aspect of the
problem to accept Toyotas claim
that the electronic throttle systems
are free from fault. Our lawyers who
are working on the Toyota litigation
and a number of safety experts
believe there is a serious problem in
that area and so do I.
Ford Recalling 365,000 F-150

Pickups
Ford has recalled 365,000 of its
F-150 pickups. The recall is intended
to fix inside door handles. T he
problem is the doors could fly open
in a crash. The recall covers the 2009
and 2010 model years. T he recall
started on February 14 th . A bout
68,000 of the popular trucks under
recall are in Canada and about
14,000 are in Mexico. Ford says there
have been no crashes or injuries tied
to the problem. T he F-150 is the
nations best selling vehicle.
Ford Recalls Nearly 150,000

F-150 Pickups
Ford is recalling 144,000 F-150
pickups from the 2005 and 2006
model years because of concerns
that the airbags may deploy without
warning. A wiring short could trigger
the airbags in some 2005 and 2006
model Ford F-150 pickups. T he
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration advised Ford to recall
the F-150 after investigating 238
reports of accidental airbag deployment. Seventy-seven injuries have
been reported, including chipped
teeth, minor burns and cuts to the
arms, hands and face. Road vibrations
and regular driving can cause the
airbag wires to rub against the metal
edge of the horn plate. The rubbing
may eventually cut through the insu-
lation on the wire, which then may

short and cause the airbag to deploy.
Ford is recalling 135,000 trucks in
the United States and 9,000 in
Canada. Ford claims the risk of accidental airbag deployment is relatively low. It should be noted that
Ford changed the wiring for the
2007 model year.
Ford Recalls 2011 Ford Explorer

The 2011 Explorer has been recalled
by Ford Motor Co. Ford is recalling
1,658 new Explorers equipped with
manual recline second row
seats. T he potential defect, which
c ove r s s o m e E x p l o re r s b u i l t
between July 15, 2010 and December 13, 2010, is the manual recliner
mechanism on the 60 side of the
60/40 split second row bench
seat. According to NHTSA, the components are out of dimensional
specification, and, that in the event
of a crash, the seat back may not
provide the required strength to
protect second row occupants.
The redesigned Explorer, which is
built in Chicago, was launched in
late 2010. The automaker sold more
than 7,300 of the new Explorers in
Januarya 70% increase in sales
compared with the SUVs older
version a year earlier. Ford said its
seat supplier for the Explorer, Lear
Corp., had shipped some second-row
seats with manual reclining mechanisms that did not meet federal
safety standards.
Ford said it identified the problem at
its assembly plant in December and
instructed dealers to stop selling
affected vehicles until they could be
repaired. T he automaker said it
would repair recalled vehicles under
warranty for consumers who have
already purchased them. Recall
notices were sent starting on February 14 th. Owners of the Explorers
should take their vehicle to the
nearest Ford dealer for repairs. Ford
dealers are supposed to be equipped
to repair the compromised part.
GM Recalls Thousands Of Cadillac

Vehicles
General Motors has recalled more
than 50,000 Cadillac CTS vehicles
worldwide to fix a loose joint that
could cause a rear wheel to become
unstable, making it hard for drivers
to steer. GM says the recall affects
more than 44,000 CTS vehicles in
the United States from the 2009 and
2010 model years. T he remaining
vehicles were sold in China and
around the globe. According to GM,
there have been no injuries or fatalities related to the recall. The auto
company said nuts in the rear suspension could become loose,
causing a sudden change in the vehicles handling or making the driver
lose control of the vehicle. Owners
can contact Cadillac at 866-982-2339
for more information.
2010 New Beetles Recalled

Volkswagen has recalled 27 New
Beetles from the 2010 model year
because they do not comply with
federal standards for crash protection. The affected vehicles, which do
not meet barrier test requirements
that took effect September 1st, were
built between September 1 st and
September 22, 2010. Folks should
check their vehicles build date
which is found on a sticker on the
driver-side doorjamb.
Volkswagen says it will offer to
replace affected owners vehicles
with comparable vehicles that were
built before September 1st and thus
meet federal standards before the
new standards took effect. For more
information, owners can call Volkswagen at 800-822-8987 or NHTSAs
vehicle safety hotline at 888-3274236.
Briggs & Stratton Recalls 50

Engines
Milwaukee small engine producer
Briggs & Stratton has recalled about
50 40 V-twin engines due to a risk of
injury. The engines involved in the
29
recall were used on Sears, Husqvarna

and Bad Boy riding mowers. Wiring
on the engines was incorrectly
routed, leaving them vulnerable to
wear that could disconnect the shutoff mechanism, allowing the engine
to continue operating even with the
key in the OFF position, according
to the Consumer Product Safety
Commission.
The engines were included in Craftsman mower s sold at Sear s,
Husqvarna mowers sold at Home
Depot and Bad Boy mowers sold at
Tractor Supply Co. T
he mowers were
sold in February and March 2010 for
between $1,500 and $3,500. Consumers were advised to contact a
Briggs & Stratton dealer and arrange
for a free inspection. Consumers can
call 866-927-3349 for information.
Safety Recall Ordered For Toyo

Tires
Toyo Tire Holdings of Americas Inc.,
the parent company of both Toyo
Tire USA Corp. And Nitto Tire USA
Inc., has announced a safety recall
campaign on a limited number of
To y o Ti r e s a n d N i t t o b r a n d
tires. The company has determined
that select Toyo Versado CUV, Toyo
Versado LX II, Toyo Open Country
A/T, Toyo Tourevo LS II and Nitto
Terra Grappler tires were distributed to retailers across the United
States with a rubber chemical
mixture that does not meet the
companys specification.
As a consequence, sections of the
tread may become detached, potentially causing loss of vehicle control
and a crash, which could result in
death or injury. Approximately 4,891
tires are subject to this recall, of
which approximately 588 were produced using the out-of-spec
rubber. The recalled tires were manufactured at the Toyo Tire & Rubber
Co., Ltd. plant in Sendai, Japan during
a two-week period in September of
2010. They can be identified by the
Made in Japan stamp and the
numbers 3810 or 3910 at the end
30
of the Department of Transportation

serial number, both located on the
tire sidewall. Tires manufactured
before and after this period are not
involved.
Nearly 800,000 Dorel Child-Safety

Seats Are Recalled
Almost 800,000 child seats have
been recalled because their harnesses may not hold the child
securely. The recall covers a wide
range of booster, convertible and
infant seats, including some sold as
part of a stroller travel system, made
by the Dorel Juvenile Group of
Columbus, Ind. (DJG). T he action
was prompted by NHTSA, which
began an investigation of the
restraints last year after receiving
several consumer complaints that
the restraining straps on the seats
had loosened.
The harness locking and release
button does not always return to its
locked position. A button that is not
in the locked position can allow the
harness adjustment strap to slip back
through the adjuster as a child
moves around in the seat resulting in
a loose harness and increasing the
risk of a child being injured in a
crash. According to DJG, the problem
involves certain restraint systems
manufactured from May 1, 2008,
through April 30, 2009, which have a
Center Front Adjuster (CFA) for the
harness.DJG said it had received 143
complaints of the front harness loosening and was conducting the recall.
The restraints were sold under the
brand names Safety 1st, Maxi-Cosi,
Cosco and Eddie Bauer, Julie
Vallese. T hey were manufactured
from May 1, 2008, to April 30,
2009. The company says there have
been no reports of center front
adjuster failure in real world crashes,
no injuries and no deaths reported
to the company.
Those recalled include infant, convertible, and booster child restraint
systems which were sold both as
stand-alone seats or part of a travel
system (with a stroller). DJG said it

intends to provide consumers with a
remedy kit consisting of a small tube
of non-toxic, food-grade lubricant to
be applied to the CFA to prevent
sticking and to allow it to properly
engage the CFA strap. Until the
remedy has been applied, NHTSA
says consumers can continue to use
the seats. But parents and caregivers
should make sure the harness is
properly adjusted and the lock/
release button is fully in the locked
position. Consumers who want more
information about this recall should
contact the manufacturer directly at
1 866-623-3139.
IKEA Recalls SNIGLAR Cribs Due

To Mattress Support Collapse
IKEA Home Furnishings, of Conshohocken, Pa., has recalled about
20,000 SNIGLAR cribs in the United
States and 6,000 SNIGLAR cribs in
Canada. T
he four bolts provided with
some SNIGLAR cribs to secure the
mattress support are not long
enough. This can cause the mattress
support to detach and collapse, creating a risk of entrapment and suffocation to a child in the crib. T his
recall involves SNIGLAR non-dropside, full-size cribs with model
number 60091931. SNIGLAR, IKEA
and the model number are printed
on a label attached to the mattress
support. The crib frame and mattress
support are made of natural/lightcolored wood.
The cribs were sold exclusively by
IKEA stores nationwide from
October 2005 through June 2010 for
about $80. Consumers should stop
using the crib immediately and
check the crib. If the mattress
support bolts extend through the
nut, the bolts are the proper length
and the crib is not included in the
recall. If the bolt does not extend
through the nut, the crib is included
in the recall. Contact IKEA for a free
repair kit for recalled cribs. In the
meantime, consumers should find an
alternate, safe sleep environment for
the child, such as a bassinet, play
yard or toddler bed depending on

the childs age. For additional information, contact IKEA toll-free at
(888) 966-4532 anytime, or visit the
firms website at www.ikea-usa.com.
were sold under the Craftsman, Delta

Shopmaster, DeVilbiss, Husky and
Porter-Cable brand names. T he
model number and manufacture date
on each unit is located on the unit
name plate on the tank.
Resistance Stretch Tubing

Recalled By EB Brands Due To
Injury Hazard
The DeVilbiss, Porter-Cable, Husky,

and Delta Shopmaster brand air compressors were sold at were sold at
home centers nationwide from
January 2003 through December
2004 for between $199 and $299.
Craftsman-brand compressors were
sold at Sears stores nationwide from
September 2000 through December
2005 for between $199 and $229.
EB Brands, of Yonkers, N.Y., has

recalled Resistance Stretch
Tubing. The handle on the tubing,
also called bands, can break or
detach while in use, causing the
tubing or handle to strike the user
and posing an injury hazard. EB
Bands has received one report of an
incident involving a bone injury. T
his
recall involves Everlast Resistance
Stretch Tubing, Everlast Pilates
Stretch Tubing, Sportline Resistance
Stretch Tubing and Pineapple Pilates
Stretch Tubing, used for exercise and
stretching. T he tubing comes in
yellow, blue or black with black
handles. The words 2404,2001 EB
Sport Group and Made in China
are molded on the handles. A list of
affected lot numbers is available on
the companys website. The tubing
was sold at sporting goods retailers
from March 2010 through December
2010 for between $13 and $25. Consumers should immediately stop
using the recalled product and
contact EB Brands for a free replacement product or a full refund. For
additional information, contact EB
Brands at (800) 624-5671, or visit the
c o m p a ny s we b s i t e a t w w w.
ebbrands.com.
DeVilbiss Recalls Air Compressors

Due To Fire Hazard
DeVilbiss Air Power Company of
Jackson, Tenn., has recalled about
460,000 air compressors. T he air
compressor motor can overheat,
posing a fire hazard. DeVilbiss says it
has received nine reports of motors
overheating, including three reports
of fire damage to surrounding prope r t y. N o i n j u r i e s h a ve b e e n
reported. The recalled compressors
Consumers should immediately stop

using and unplug the recalled compressors and call DeVilbiss or Sears
for a free inspection and repair. For
additional information, consumers
with DeVilbiss, Porter-Cable, Husky
and Delta compressors should
contact the companys website at
www.porter-cable.com or www.
devap.com. Consumers with Craftsman-brand compressors should call
Sears toll-free at (888) 279-8013, or
visit the Sears website at www.sears.
com.
Atico International USA Recalls

Heaters Due To Fire Hazard
About 92,000 TrueLiving Heater Fans
and Portable Quartz Radiant Heaters
have been recalled by Atico International USA, Inc. of Fort Lauderdale,
Fla. These heaters have caught fire,
posing a fire hazard to consumers. Atico has received eight reports
of the A14B1053 Heater Fan overheating and 21 reports of the
A14B0979 Quartz Heater overheating. Reports for the A14B1053 Heater
Fan included one report of damage
to an electrical outlet and wall and
one report of flames coming out of
the front of the unit. Reports for the
A14B0979 Quartz Heater included
damage to the heaters plug, one
report of f lames coming from a
control knob and one report of a
consumer receiving minor burns to
the hand. For both products, reports
included incidents of smoke and

melting of the plastic casing.
Model numbers are found on a silver
colored sticker on the bottom of the
unit. Additionally, both heaters are
marked with manufacturing dates
between 6/1/2010 and
8/30/2010. T
he date code appears as
DATE CODE: 0610 The heaters
were sold by Dollar General Stores
from September 2010 to December
2010. The heater fans sold for about
$15 and the quartz radiant heater
sold for about $42. Consumers
should immediately stop using the
recalled heaters and return them to
any Dollar General Store for a full
refund. For additional information,
contact Atico International USA tollfree at (866) 448-7856 between 9
a.m. And 5 p.m. ET, Monday through
Friday, or visit the companys website
at www.aticousa.com
Lasko Recalls Portable Electric

Heaters Due To Fire Hazard
Lasko Products Inc., of West Chester,
Penn., has recalled its portable electric heaters. An electrical connection
in the base of the unit can overheat,
causing it to melt and expose the
electrical connection, posing a fire
hazard to consumers. Lasko received
a total of 36 reports of the electrical
connection overheating with no
reports of injury. T here were 18
reports of minor burn damage to
floors or carpets. The portable, electric, tower heaters are 20.5 inches
tall x 8.25 inches wide x 9.25 inches
deep. They are dark grey with silver
front covers and black vent slats. T
he
brand names Lasko or Air King are
on the top, center of the front
cover. The Lasko Model 5540 and Air
King Model 8540 subject to this
recall were manufactured in 2002
and have date codes that begin with
a 2. The date code is on the label
located on the bottom of the
unit. The date code is a four-digit
number on the bottom left area of
the label, above the voltage number.
Heaters with date codes beginning
31
with 3, 4 or 5 are not subject to

this recall.
The Lasko Model 5540 heaters were
sold at Sams Club and other retailers
from September 2002 through early
2004 for $39 to $49. The Air King
Model 8540 was sold primarily
through the maintenance, repair and
operating products supply company,
W.W. Grainger Inc. from late 2002 to
2004 for approximately $80.00. Consumers should stop using the heaters
immediately and contact Lasko to
receive a free replacement heater.
For additional information and pictures of affected models, visit Laskos
website at www.Laskoproducts.com,
or call Lasko anytime, toll-free at
(800) 363-8044.
WindTunnel Canister Vacuums

Recalled Due To Fire And Shock
Hazards
Hoover Inc., of Glenwillow, Ohio, has
recalled about 142,000 Hoover
WindTunnel Canister Vacuums. The
power cord between the power
nozzle and the wand connector can
short-circuit posing fire and shock
hazards to consumers. This condition can occur even if the vacuum
has been turned off but left plugged
in. Hoover says it has received 69
reports of overheating or electrical
malfunction, including one report of
fire and smoke damage, and two
reports of carpet damage. There has
been one report of a minor injury.
This recall involves the Hoover WindTunnel Bagless Canister Vacuum
model S3755. The vacuum is silver
and black in color, and comes with a
power nozzle. The model number
can be found on a label on the
bottom of the canister. T
he vacuums
were sold at mass merchandisers,
department stores and independent
vacuum retailers nationwide and
online from March 2003 to December 2008 for between $250 and
$280. Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled vacuum
cleaners and contact Hoover for a
free repair. For additional informa-
32
tion, contact Hoover toll-free at (888)

564-2066, or visit the companys
website at www.hoover.com/windtunnelcanisterrecall.
AmerTac Recalls Night Lights Due

To Fire And Burn Hazard
About 261,000 LED Night Lights
have been recalled by American Tack
& Hardware Co. Inc. (AmerTac), of
Saddle River, N.J. An electrical short
circuit in the night light can cause it
to overheat and smolder or melt,
which can burn consumers or result
in fire. A merTac has received 18
reports of the night lights smoking,
burning, melting and/or charring,
including three reports of minor
property damage and one of a minor
burn injury.
Three night light models are being
recalled: model numbers 71193,
71194 and 327879. Only those with
KML molded on the back are being
recalled. All three models have KML,
ETL, the AmerTac logo and the
model number molded on the back
of the night lights plastic housing.
Model number 71193 is a square
shaped, white plastic unit with a flat
translucent square window on the
front and a button for changing the
screen color. Model 71194 and
327879 resemble a computer mouse
with white plastic housing and inset
translucent windows on the front
and sides.
The night lights were sold at hardware stores, lighting showrooms and
home centers nationwide from
March 2009 through January 2011
for about $7. Consumers should stop
using the recalled night lights immediately and unplug them from the
wall. Contact AmerTac for instructions on receiving a full refund and
for additional information at (800)
420-7511, or visit AmerTacs website
at www.amertac.com or www.recallcenter.com. CPSC is still interested in
receiving incident or injury reports
that are either directly related to this
product recall or involve a different
hazard with the same product. Please
contact CPSC by visiting https://

www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx.
Tyco Recalls Fire Alarm Panels

Tyco Safety Products has recalled
540 fire alarm control panels that
have reportedly failed to function on
two occasions. Tyco Safety Products
Westminster of Westminster, Mass.,
has received two reports of control
panels, distributed by SimplexGrinnell, that have failed to alert monitoring centers when they should
have. The fire alarm control panels
were sold from May 2010 through
September 2010 for between
$10,000 and $20,000. The control
panel involved in the recall is the
Simplex 4100U-NXP model. T he
words Simplex and Fire Control
appear on the front panel. Building
managers have been advised to
contact SimplexGrinnell for a free
software upgrade for the control
panels. Building managers can call
866-565-6322 for information.
Sunbeam Products Inc. Recalls

Convertible Irons
Sunbeam Products Inc., Boca Raton,
Fla., has recalled their convertible
clothes iron. The iron can overheat
and cause a fire because of a wiring
issue, posing a risk of burn injury to
consumers. Sunbeam says it has
received 17 reports of irons overheating and three reports of irons
catching on fire. No injuries have
been reported. The recalled product
is the Sunbeam Convertible Iron
with a model number of GCSBRS
103. It is a blue and gray, hand-held
garment iron that converts to a
garment steamer. T
he model number
can be found on the bottom of the
irons plastic base. The recalled irons
have date codes C235 or C237
imprinted on the blade of the plug
and on the bottom of the packaging.
The irons were sold at Bed Bath &
Beyond stores nationwide from June
2010 to November 2010 for about
$60. Consumers should immediately
stop using the irons and contact

Sunbeam for a free replacement. For
additional information, call Sunbeam
at (800) 656-9708 anytime or visit
the companys website at www.sunbeamconvertible.com.
Kristi G, SwimWays Corporation

Recalls Child Chairs
Kristi G Company, of Atlanta, Ga.and
SwimWays Corp., of Virginia, has
recalled about 5,200 Kristi G Go &
Grow Chairs. The chair can tip over,
posing a fall hazard. SwimWays Corp.
has received eight reports of the
chairs tipping over. In two of the
reports, children received scrapes on
the face and hands. T he recalled
product is a lightweight, polyester
chair for children three months and
older, weighing up to 75 pounds. T
he
chairs include a detachable sun
canopy, detachable tray, three-point
harness, and a polyester carr y
bag. There are holes in the seat to
allow for standing. The chairs differ
in color scheme only as follows:
model 80325 is brown with blue
polka dots, 80326 is brown with
green polka dots and 80327 is brown
with pink polka dots. T he model
number is located on the box. The
chairs were sold online by national
mass merchandisers and retailers
from March 2010 to January 2011 for
$34.99 to $89.99. Consumers should
immediately stop using the recalled
product and contact SwimWays
Corp. To receive reimbursement of
the purchase price. For more information, contact SwimWays Corp. At
(888) 559-4653 or visit the companys website at www.kelsyus.com or
www.swimways.com
Escalade Sports Recalls Oasis

Playsets Due To Fall Hazard
Escalade Sports of Evansville, Ind.,
has recalled about 4,600 outdoor
playsets. The swing seats on the playsets can crack and break in half,
causing the user to fall to the ground.
Escalade Sports has received 24
reports of the seats breaking; no inju-
ries have been reported. T his

recall involves belt-style swing seats
on four models of Oasis Playsets:
PG01W, PG02W, PG03W and PG04W.
Model numbers are located on a
plate on the swings horizontal
beam. T he green plastic seats are
about 26 inches long and are hung
from green, plastic-coated chains.
The swing seats have rounded ends
with black grommets on each end.
The playsets were sold by Oasis distributors and dealers nationwide
from April 2008 to December 2010
for between $1,500 and $2,200. Consumers should immediately stop
using these swing seats and contact
Escalade Sports for free replacement
swing seats. For additional information, contact Escalade Sports at (800)
742-6009, or visit the companys
website at www.escaladesports.com.
Consumers can also e-mail the
company at safetyinfo@escaladesports.com.
Sassy Inc. Recalls Refreshing

Rings Infant Teethers/Rattles
Sassy Inc., of Kentwood, Mich., has
recalled about 37,000 Refreshing
Rings Infant Teethers/Rattles. Small
pieces of the plastic ball can detach
as a result of children chewing on
the teether/rattle, posing an ingestion hazard. The company says it has
received one report of pieces of the
black plastic from the polka dot ball
detaching while being chewed. No
injuries have been reported. T his
recall involves Refreshing Rings
infant teethers/rattles intended for
babies ages three months and
older. The product has a red, waterfilled ring on one end and a black
and white polka dot ball on the
other end. T he two ends of the
rattles/teethers are connected by a
black and white, flexible plastic rod
with three f loating rings. Style
number 80026 is printed on the
packaging.
The teethers were sold at mass merchandise and baby specialty stores
nationwide between July 2009 and
January 2011 for about $5. Consumers should immediately take the
teethers/rattles from children and
contact Sassy Inc. for instructions on
how to return the product for a free
replacement toy. For additional information, contact Sassy Inc. At (800)
323-6336 or visit the companys
website at www.sassybaby.com.
Company Recalls Alcohol Swabs

After Toddlers Meningitis Death
Triad Group has recalled all of its
alcohol products. The company also
makes alcohol pads and swabs for
dozens of other stores, like CVS,
Kroger, Safeway and Walgreens. It
was reported the very young dont
have as strong as an immune system
and are particularly at risk. The manufacturer stated on its website:
This recall has been initiated due
to concerns from a customer
about potential contamination
of the products with an objectionable organism that may or may
not be related to Triads manufacture of these products. We are, out
of an abundance of caution,
recalling these lots and revalidating our production lines.
J&J Recalls Antipsychotic Drug

Invega Syringes
A unit of Johnson & Johnson has
recalled 70,000 syringes of its antipsychotic drug Invega Sustenna after
finding that some of the pre-filled
syringes may have cracks which possibly could affect the drugs sterility.
Janssen, a unit of Johnson & Johnson,
said in a letter to pharmacists and
health care providers that the voluntary recall affects lots of its 234-milligram-strength injections. The crack is
completely covered by the label and
is not detectable by the user. The
company said in the letter posted on
its website that there have been no
reports of adverse effects or infection since the product launched and
no reports of leakage associated with
cracked syringe barrels. No other
33
strengths of the drug or products

marketed by Janssen are affected.
A Half-Million Baby Bassinets

Recalled
Invega was approved in December

2006 to treat schizophrenia. T he
drug is related to Risperdal, a former
blockbuster antipsychotic that lost
patent protection in 2008. Janssen
markets Invega in the United States
for New Brunswick, New Jerseybased J&J. According to Janssen the
recall impacts most available inventory of the 234-mg strength drug, but
it says it expects to resume shipping
the product this month and returning to normal levels of product availability in April.
Hundreds of thousands of baby bassinets made by Burlington Basket Co.

have been recalled amid concerns
that they could collapse if not assembled properly. T he recall involves
about 500,000 bassinetsall made
by the company before June of last
year. The Consumer Product Safety
Commission says the bassinets can
collapse if the support rails that hold
the basket are not fully locked into
place. The Burlington, Iowa-based
company is not offering to take back
the bassinets, but is instead giving
consumers free repair kits to show
exactly how to install the support
rails. Consumers should check to
make sure their bassinet has the
support rails properly locked in
place.
Diabetes Test Strips Recalled

Abbott Diabetes Care products has
recalled faulty glucose test
strips. This is the second recall on
the strips since December. The FDA
increased the level of the recall in
February. Officials are very concerned that the test strips may
provide inaccurate blood sugar readings and potentially cause diabetics
to suffer serious injury or even
death. The test strips were sold by
Abbott under the names:
precision xceed pro
precision xtra
The CPSC and the company have

received ten reports of incidents in
which the bassinets collapsed when
the folding legs were not locked
properly. Two infants received minor
injuries, including a bruise to the
head. The bassinets were sold at WalMart and other mass merchandisers,
department stores and juvenile
product stores nationwide. Consumers can contact the company at 800553-2300 for more information.
medisense optium
optium
optiumez
relion ultima
The test strips were manufactured
between January and September
2010, and are used with monitoring
systems of the same names. T he
monitoring systems themselves are
not being recalled. Abbott and the
FDA recommend that customers
using the affected strips discontinue
using them and contact Abbott for
free replacement strips. T
he toll free
number is 1-800-448-5234.
34
Nurses Choice Recalls Holiday

Keepsake Newborn Mittens
Nurses Choice Corp. of Wilmington,
N.C., has recalled 4,700 Newborn
Keepsake Mittens. Decorations on
the mittens can be pulled off, posing
a choking hazard. The company says
it has received one report of a decoration falling off a mitten but that no
injuries have been reported. T he
infant mittens are made of white
cotton. They have candy cane, teddy
bear and 2011 decorations glued
on one side. The recalled products
were distributed by hospitals nationwide for free to newborns from
October 2010 to January 2011. Consumers should immediately stop
using the mittens and contact Nurses
Choice for a free replacement. For

more information, contact Nurses
Choice at (800) 747-7076, by e-mail
to info@nurses-choice.com or visit
the companys website at www.
nurses-choice.com
Horse Feed Manufacturer Issues

Recall
A manufacturer has issued a recall of
horse feed that was distributed in
California, Nevada and Oregon
because it may contain a medication
that can be fatal to horses if fed at
high levels. Missouri-based Manna
Pro Products is recalling Family Farm
Complete Horse 10 horse feed, lot
number 1006, because it may
contain potentially harmful levels of
the medication monensin sodium, or
Rumensin. The feed was distributed
in January to retailers in California,
Nevada and Oregon. No illnesses or
deaths have been reported and retailers have removed it from their stores,
but the company says customers
who purchased the product should
stop feeding it immediately.
REI Novara Fusion Bicycles

Recalled
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission announced a voluntary
recall of 160 REI Equipment bicycles
due to a fall hazard. The alloy steerer
tube on REIs Novara Fusion bicycles
could separate from the fork,
causing a rider to lose control, the
Commission said in a statement. The
bicycles were imported from Taiwan
by Recreational Equipment Inc.,
doing business as Novara, of Kent,
Wash., and sold nationwide at REI
stores from November 2009 through
November 2010.
They were sold for between $600
and $900. The bicycles were sold in
two sizes. The Step Through bicycles
were sold in extra small and
small. The Fusion bicycles were sold
in medium, large and extra large.
Consumers were advised to stop
using the bicycles and contact an
REI store to arrange for installation

of a free replacement fork. Consumers can call 800-426-4840 for information.
If you need more information on any of
the recalls listed above, or would like
information on a recall not listed, please
visit our firms web site at www.BeasleyAllen.com/recalls. We would also like to
know if we have missed any significant
recall that involves a safety issue this
month. If so, please let us know. You may
also contact Shanna Malone at Shanna.
Malone@beasleyallen.com for more recall
information.
XXI.
FIRM ACTIVITIES
Employee Spotlights
Parker Miller
During his time in the firms Environmental Section, Parker Miller has played
an integral role in some of the most significant and complex litigation in the
nation. Currently, Parker is actively
involved in the BP Oil Spill litigation, a
consequence of the tragic Deepwater
Horizon explosion that resulted in the
worst environmental disaster in United
States history. Parker is working with
numerous Gulf Coast fishermen, businesses and government entities that
have been devastated by the oil spills
impact. He currently represents hundreds of cleanup workers sickened as a
result of their exposure to oil and toxic
chemical dispersants. Whether its
obtaining significant emergency payments to keep businesses open, counseling injured cleanup workers who were
given little warning of dangerous toxins,
or working with lawyers throughout the
nation in the New Orleans multidistrict
litigation, Parker, along with other
lawyers and support staff in the section,
are helping to make a difference for Gulf
Coast residents.
Working with Rhon Jones, Environmental Section Head, Parker has also assumed
a leadership role with the national Hot
Fuel multidistrict litigation team against
some of the worlds largest oil companies. Our firm represents consumers and
businesses in seeking billions in lost revenues as a result of thermal expansion of
motor fuel at retail. Recently, the Plaintiffs
achieved class certification for consumers and businesses in the State of Kansas
and defeated the oil company appeals in
the 10th Circuit. In addition to these projects, Parker represents clients against
major coal companies for mine subsidence property damages, and is actively
investigating claims related to nuisance,
trespass to property, and personal injury
due to exposure to toxic chemicals.
Parker received his B.S. in Business
Administration from Auburn University
and his Juris Doctor degree from Thomas
Goode Jones School of Law. While attending law school, Parker was recognized as
one of the nations finest student advocates and received the Lewis F. Powell
Jr. A merican College of Trial Lawyers
Medal of Excellence in Advocacy for his
performance in the American College of
Trial Lawyers annual National Trial Competition. Out of hundreds of teams, Parkers team finished a national semifinalist. Additionally, Parker studied law
abroad at the Universiteit van Amsterdam
in conjunction with Tulane University,
was on the Deans List at Jones, and was a
charter member of the Jones School of
Law Board of Advocates.
Parker maintains an active role in
various local, state and national legal and
non-legal societies. He is a member of the
American Association for Justices Oil
Spill Litigation Taskforce, and a member
of the prestigious American Inns of Court,
Hugh Maddox Chapter. Parker is also a
committee member and recruitment subcommittee chairman of the Alabama State
Bars Volunteer Lawyers Programa
program dedicated to achieve justice for
those who could not otherwise afford it.
He is also a member of the Montgomery
County Bar Associations Grievance Committee, an attorney host on WSFAs Law
Call television program, and a guest
speaker for the Montgomery Boys Club.
Parker is originally from Faunsdale, Ala.,
and is the son of Tommy and Mary
Miller. An avid golfer and Auburn football
fan, Parker lives in Montgomery with his
wife, the former Ashley Brownsberger of
Tampa Bay, Fla. Parker and Ashley are
active in St. Peters Church. We are fortunate to have Parker in the firm.
Kathy Eckermann
Kathy Eckermann, who has been with

the firm for ten years, now serves as my
Executive Assistant. This is a very important position and it takes a special person
to handle the demands that go along with
the job. Kathy assists me with a number
of things including answering the phone,
returning phone calls, checking the firm
trial schedule for accuracy, making travel
arrangements, scheduling board meetings, and dealing with all sorts of people
contacts. Anything to do with Auburn
football tickets also comes over her desk.
It takes a person with excellent peopleskills to handle this position.
Kathy has been married to Eddie Eckermann for 30 years. Eddie, a retired school
teacher, currently drives buses for Capital
Trailways. Kathy and Eddie have two children, both in their 20s. Aaron is a full
time musician, serving as the drummer
for a touring band, and Leah graduated
from Troy University in December. Kathy
attended Huntingdon College and
received a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education, graduating cum laude. She loves
playing the piano and composing music,
reading, walking for exercise, hiking
when on vacation and spending time
with her family. Kathy serves as the
pianist at her church, Eastmont Baptist.
For over 20 years Libby Wilbanks held
down the position Kathy now fills. When
Libby moved back to Georgia, Kathy took
over. Kathy had been working with Libby
for several months, learning all about the
position and now is doing an excellent
job. Libby did a tremendous job and
hopefully Kathy will have a similar
tenure. I have been blessed to have good
folks working with me and Kathy fits that
description very well.
Michelle Bailey
Michelle Bailey, who has been with the

firm for three years, currently serves as a
clerical assistant. Much of Michelles time
is spent managing the mailing list and
database for The Jere Beasley Report.The
report currently goes out to over 63,000
people. Michelles work also includes
managing the invitation lists for the seminars and retreats the firm sponsors
throughout the year.Michelle is a single
35
mother of a teenage son, Mason. She also

has 4 dogs (Colin, Sada, CJ & Logan). She
also has two nephews and a niece whom
she adores and, according to Michelle,
spoils each chance she gets.
Michelle has a B.S. in Sociology and
Criminal Justice. But she says she is actually going through Junior High School
again, courtesy of her son.Michelle says
she never thought she would have to
experience that again! She enjoys sewing,
word search puzzles, board or card
games, music and going to the gym.
Michelle is a very good employee and
does an excellent job of keeping up with
the Report. We are fortunate to have her
with the firm.
Tracie Harrison
Tracie Harrison came to work with the

firm over 11 years ago. Interestingly,
Tracie traveled back and forth from
Sprott (Perry County, Ala.), a 160 mile
round trip everyday, to work. She came
to work as Legal Secretary for Rhon
Jones, who heads up our Toxic Torts
Section. A fter two months she was
moved to the position of Legal Assistant
and she continues to work in that capacity with Rhon and John Tomlinson. T
racie
is currently working on several important
cases. Two of them are the Gulf of
Mexico BP Oil Spill litigation and the TVA
Kingston Coal Ash Spill case.
Tracie has been married to Nick for 16
years and they have one son. Hayden,
who is nine years old and is a fourth
grader at Victory Baptist School in Millbrook. Tracie is a lifelong member of
Marion Presbyterian Church in her home
town, but since moving to Elmore
County, the family attends Millbrook Presbyterian Church.
Tracie is also a full-time student at
Judson College, working towards a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in
English & History. Judson, the nations
fifth oldest womens college, was
founded in 1838 by Baptists in Marion to
educate young women in a Christian
environment. The independent, liberal
arts college waslisted among the Top 20
Best National Liberal Arts Colleges 2011
in U.S. News & World Report. Judson is
committed to a quality, valuable education for women of the future.
36
Tracie currently enjoys Zumba, fitness

dancing featuring exotic rhythms set to
high-energy Latin and other international
beats, as well as cooking and reading. She
also enjoys getting away and spending
time with her family in Perry County,
hunting, fishing, and in the summer
hanging out on the Cahaba River. Tracie
is a very good and dedicated employee
and we are blessed to have her with us.
XXII.
SPECIAL
RECOGNITIONS
Bob Palmer Is A Very Special Person
Bob Palmer is a very special person.
Not only is he a good lawyer, but Bob is
also a very good man. Bob took a break
from the practice of law in Birmingham
to write his first novel, Archibald Zwick
and the Eight Towers. T he novel was
published last November and it has been
a best seller. In addition to his literary
talents, Bobs work as a lawyer has benefited ordinary working folks in Alabama.
He won a tremendous victory a few years
back in a toxic torts case that overturned
a terrible Alabama Supreme Court decision that had set an unreasonable statute
of limitations for toxic cases.
Bob said he was praying for Gods
guidance to change the law in Alabama,
and that is exactly what happened. He
was honored with the 2008 Access to
Justice Award by the Public Justice Foundation for his efforts to allow greater protection for victims of toxic chemical
exposure. Currently, Bob has a number of
other literary projects underway. His
novel can be purchased on Amazon.com
and Barnesandnobel.com and at some
Lifeway stores.
ARCA car. He raced on February 12th at

the World Center of Racing. T
he Lucas Oil
Slick Mist 200 kicked off Daytona Speed
Weeks, which was the beginning of the
race season. Grant had difficulty with his
car in that race, but managed a ninth
place finish which was great under the
circumstances. He will drive at Talladega
on April 15th and is hoping to win that
race. These races are televised live nationally. For more information on ARCA activities, visit www.arcaracing.com.
XXIII.
FAVORITE BIBLE
VERSES
We received a large number of Bible
verses for this issue. Several came from
lawyers in the firm. Its good to know that
this section is well received by our
readers. Frankly, I believe its one of the
most important sections in the Report
each month. I encourage folks to send in
verses. We will use as many as we can
each month.
My cousin, G.B. Beasley who lives in Ft.
Payne, sent in a verse for this issue. GB
was a highly-successful high school football coach in North Alabama. In fact,
Coach Paul Bryant once called him one
of the best high school coaches in
Alabama. GB later served as principal of
Ft. Payne High School. After retiring, he
continued to work on educational programs for the state. He and his wife Jean
now spend lots of time traveling around
the country.
The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, and all kings your glory.
You shall be called by a new name,
which the mouth of the LORD will
name.
Isaiah 62:2
The Firm Is Sponsoring Grant Enfinger

Our firm is sponsoring Grant Enfinger
and the Beasley Allen race car again this
year. Our commitment to the ARCA race
program expired at the end of 2010, but
we decided to sponsor the BeasleyAllen.
com car this year at the two fastest tracks
in the country. Grant will again drive the
Shane Seaborn, a lawyer with offices in

Clayton and Union Springs, sent in one of
his favorite verses. Shane says he keeps
the verse near his office computer.
If you wait for perfect conditions
you will never get anything done.
Ecclesiastes 11:4
Tom Methvin, our firms Managing

Shareholder, who not only talks the talk
as a Christian, but also walks the walk,
furnished the following verse:
And we know that all things work
together for good to those who love
God, to those who are the called
according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28
My friend Bryan Kelly, who is with
Common Ground, sent in a verse for this
issue. Bryan and his wife Delta serve the
folks in West Montgomery on a daily
basis. T
hey are doing the Lords work and
will be blessed for it.
Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
Psalm 34:3
Ted Meadows, a lawyer in our Mass
Torts Section, also furnished a verse for
this issue. Ted and his family are active
members of St. James United Methodist
Church.
Learn to do right! Seek justice,
encourage the oppressed. Defend
the cause of the fatherless, plead the
case of the widow.
Isaiah 1:17 (NIV)
Archie Grubb, a lawyer in our Consumer Fraud Section, also furnished the
following verse for this issue. Archie, a
native of Eufaula, Ala., comes from a long
line of very good lawyers. His great-grandfather, William Irwin Grubb, was a federal
judge in Birmingham from 1909 until his
death in 1935.
Then I heard the voice of the Lord
saying, Whom shall I send? And
who will go for us? And I said,
Here am I. Send me!
Isaiah 6:8:
Stephanie Emens sent in one of her
favorites verses for this issue. Stephanie,
who is a lawyer in our Toxic Torts Section,
says this verse is a good one for the times
we live in today.
T h e re fo re w e d o n o t l o s e
heart. T hough outwardly we are
wasting away, yet inwardly we are
being renewed day by day. For our

light and momentary troubles are
achieving for us an eternal glory
that far outweighs them all. So we
fix our eyes not on what is seen,
but on what is unseen. For what is
seen is temporary, but what is
unseen is eternal. For we know
that if our earthly house, this tent,
is destroyed, we have a building
from God, a house not made with
hands, eternal in the heavens.
these verses help folks who read the

Report. I know they help me!
2 Corinthians 4:16-18, 5:1
Russ Abney, a lawyer in our firm, lives

in Atlanta, Ga.. Russ works out of that
location and is an important member of
our Mass Torts Section. He specializes in
pharmaceutical litigation and needless to
say, Russ has been very busy lately. Russ
says the following message from the New
Testament keeps him grounded in his
work and in his family life.
Stephanie says that it can be easy to

lose heart if we only fix our eyes on what
is seen in the news, on television, in
movies, and even in our own lives. She
adds that refocusing our attention on the
unseen is what gives us the strength and
perspective to run the race marked out
for us. Thats very well said and very
true!
Ben Baker, a lawyer in our firm who
handles product liability cases, sent in a
verse. Ben and his family are active
members of Christchurch, an Anglican
Parish in Montgomery.
Likewise you younger people,
submit yourselves to your elders.
Yes, all of you be submissive to one
another, and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud, But
gives grace to the humble.
1 Peter 5:5
Cole Portis, who heads up the Personal
InjuryProducts Liability Section in our
firm, sent in a favorite verse. Cole and his
wife Joy have seven children and are
active members of Morningview Baptist
Church.
I have been crucified with Christ. It
is no longer I who live, but Christ
who lives in me. And the life I now
live in the flesh I live by faith in the
Son of God, who loved me and gave
himself for me.
Galatians 2:20
We werent able to put in all of the
verses received for this issue due to space
restrictions. But we will put those in the
next month. Its a blessing to know that
XXIV.
CLOSING
OBSERVATIONS
Russ Abney Knows Where To Turn For
Help
Take heed that you do not do your

charitable deeds before men, to be
seen by them. Otherwise you have
no reward from your Father in
heaven. T herefore, when you do a
charitable deed, do not sound a
trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in
the streets, that they may have glory
from men. Assuredly, I say to you,
they have their reward. But when
you do a charitable deed, do not let
your left hand know what your
right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and
your Father who sees in secret will
Himself reward you openly. And
when you pray, you shall not be
like the hypocrites. For they love to
pray standing in the synagogues
and on the corners of the streets,
that they may be seen by
men. Assuredly, I say to you, they
have their reward. But you, when
you pray, go into your room, and
when you have shut your door,
pray to your Father who is in the
secret place; and your Father who
sees in secret will reward you
openly. And when you pray, do not
use vain repetitions as the heathen
do. For they think that they will be
heard for their many words.Therefore do not be like them. For your
Father knows the things you have
37
need of before you ask Him. In this

manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the
power and the glory forever. Amen.
For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will
also forgive you. But if you do not
forgive men their trespasses, neither
will your Father forgive your trespasses.Moreover, when you fast, do
not be like the hypocrites, with a
sad countenance. For they disfigure
their faces that they may appear to
men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to
you, they have their reward. But
you, when you fast, anoint your
head and wash your face, so that
you do not appear to men to be
fasting, but to your Father who is
in the secret place; and your Father
who sees in secret will reward you
openly.Do not lay up for yourselves
treasures on earth, where moth and
rust destroy and where thieves
break in and steal; but lay up for
yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust
destroys and where thieves do not
break in and steal. For where your
treasure is, there your heart will be
also. The lamp of the body is the
eye. If therefore your eye is good,
your whole body will be full of light.
But if your eye is bad, your whole
body will be full of darkness. If
therefore the light that is in you is
darkness, how great is that darkness! No one can serve two masters;
for either he will hate the one and
love the other, or else he will be
loyal to the one and despise the
other. You cannot serve God and
mammon.
38
Therefore I say to you, do not

worry about your life, what you
will eat or what you will drink; nor
about your body, what you will put
on. Is not life more than food and
the body more than clothing? Look
at the birds of the air, for they
neither sow nor reap nor gather
into barns; yet your heavenly
Father feeds them. Are you not of
more value than they? Which of you
by worrying can add one cubit to
his stature? So why do you worry
about clothing? Consider the lilies
of the field, how they grow: they
neither toil nor spin; and yet I say
to you that even Solomon in all his
glory was not arrayed like one of
these. Now if God so clothes the
grass of the field, which today is,
and tomorrow is thrown into the
oven, will He not much more clothe
you, O you of little faith? Therefore
do not worry, saying, What shall
we eat? or What shall we drink? or
What shall we wear? For after all
these things the Gentiles seek. For
your heavenly Father knows that
you need all these things. But seek
first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness, and all these things
shall be added to you. Therefore do
not worry about tomorrow, for
tomorrow will worry about its own
things. Sufficient for the day is its
own trouble.
Matthew 6
I always look forward to hearing from
my long-time friend John Ed Mathison.
Interestingly, since John Ed retired he
seems to be busier than ever. The following is from John Ed and its a good
message for us. It definitely puts things in
the proper perspective.
Check Your Ticket

The Super Bowl was played last
Sunday in Jerry Jones $1.2 billion
palace. Most people were amazed at
this venue for a football game.
The NFL wanted to make it the
largest crowd ever to see a Super
Bowl game live. For that reason
they put in a lot of temporary seats

to bring the seating capacity to
over 105,000. T hey also sold $200
tickets to watch the game on video
screens that were set up outside the
stadium.
But not everybody was impressed
with the new stadium. About 1,200
people discovered that they had
paid a lot of money for airline
tickets, hotels, and tickets to the
game, only to discover that their
tickets to the game were no
good. They had tickets in the temporary seating, and the Fire Marshall
said that those seats were unsafe.
There was a chain reaction of
placing the blame for the failure to
have the seats secure. Was it a lack
of planning on the part of the NFL,
the stadium employees, or the ice
and snow storm that kept workers
from finishing the job? I like what
one commentator said, It was
greed.
It must be extremely disappointing
to buy a ticket to an important
event, then to discover that the
ticket is no good. They did find
some standing room places in the
stadium for a few of them, and
offered to let some watch the game
on monitors or on one of the
outdoor television screens. T hat is
not exactly what people who had
spent thousands of dollars expected.
The NFL did offer to give a check to
the ticket holders for triple the
amount of the face value of the
tickets. Since the tickets were $800,
the fans would receive $2,400. One
of the fans had actually paid
$3,000 for his ticket, so he said he
was losing $600 just on the ticket
not counting the airfare, hotel, and
food.
In life we buy a ticket for what we
receive every day. Sometimes we
pay a lot for a ticket to something
we think we want, then discover
the ticket doesnt work. It may be
disappointing to have a bad ticket
for the Super Bowlits really sad
to buy into a philosophy of life that
is a total bust. T here is only one

guaranteed commitment that you
can count onthat is the Christian
faith. Jesus said, I have come that
you might have life and have it
more abundantly. (John 10:10)
There are a lot of advertisements of
how a person can enjoy life. T hey
involve the accumulation of things,
the use of certain products, achieving a certain life style, working
extra hard to make extra money
the list goes on and on. T here is
only one genuine guarantee and
that is in Jesus Christ.
This concept goes much further
when it comes to eternal life. Some
things might help you have a little
temporary fun in this life, but when
it comes to eternal life only faith in
Jesus Christ is valid. Jesus said, I
am the way, the truth and the life;
no man comes to the Father, but by
Me. (John 14:6)
I really look forward to seeing the
stadium in Dallas some day. I hope
the ticket I get will be a good one.
I am a thousand times more
excited about seeing what God has
prepared for me in heaven. I know
that my ticket has been paid for by
Gods son Jesus Christ with His
death on the cross, and then validated by His resurrection and my
acceptance of His grace.
In fact I dont have to worry about
being in temporary seatingits an
eternal seat that exceeds a million

times the finest luxury boxes in
Cowboy Stadium! Paul writes, eye
has not seen, ear has not heard, nor
has entered into the heart of man
all that God has prepared for those
who love Him. (I Corinthians 2:9)
Valid tickets are important when
going to a football game, and in
life. There is no need for any of us to
be disappointed. Snow storms, nor
inefficiencies, nor greed will ever
hamper Gods plan for each of us.
Do you have the valid ticket?
John Ed Mathison
www.johnedmathison.org
A Monthly Reminder
If my people, who are called by my
name, will humble themselves and
pray and seek my face and turn
from their wicked ways, then will I
hear from heaven and will forgive
their sin and will heal their land.
2 Chron 7:14
XXV.
PARTING WORDS
Leigh ODell, another lawyer in our
Mass Torts Section, gave the weekly devotion for the firm on February 16th. She
spoke on courage, using Joshua as an
example of how you can be apprehensive and maybe even scared when given
a difficult task or placed in a totally unfamiliar situation, but still have the courage
to carry on. That courage comes from a
loving and powerful Heavenly Father. The
following message gave Joshua his marching orders.
Be strong and very courageous. Be
careful to obey all the instructions
Moses gave you. Do not deviate from
them, turning either to the right or
to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this
Book of Instruction continually.
Meditate on it day and night so you
will be sure to obey everything
written in it. Only then will you
prosper and succeed in all you
do. This is my commandbe strong
and courageous! Do not be afraid or
discouraged. For the Lord your God
is with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:8-9:
(New Living Translation)
I suspect that each of us on occasion
has been sort of scared in certain situations. I know that I have been on more
than one occasion. Knowing that God is
with us and in controlwith the Holy
Spirit to guide us at all timeswill keep
us grounded and able to cope with difficult assignments or predicaments. Thats
an assurance that beats all of the alternatives without question. Hopefully, each of
our readers has that assurance. If not, its
readily available.
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founding
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lawone
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Crow, Methvin,
Portis
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Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C., is one of the most successful litigators of all time,
with the best track record of verdicts of any lawyer in America. Beasleys law firm,
established in 1979 with the mission of helping those who need it most, now
employs 44 lawyers and more than 200 support staff. Jere Beasley has always
been an advocate for victims of wrongdoing and has been helping those who need
representation is made that the quality of services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers.
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Alabama Governor Acts To Prevent

will keep him very busy over the next

John McMillan Takes Over As

Once he was sworn in, Attorney

My long-time friend John McMillan, the

Source: Associated Press

The New Attorney General Hits The

confident John will do an outstanding job

An Update On The Regional Water Wars

A Report on the Gulf Coast Disaster. . . . . 3

Drug Manufacturers Fraud Litigation. . . . 8

Purely Political News & Views . . . . . . . . . . 9

VII. The National Scene. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Toyota Litigation Update . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Product Liability Update . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Mass Torts Update. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

XII. Business Litigation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

XXI. Firm Activities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

problem will be a tough nut to crack, it

Some Interesting Facts Relating To

and commissions, but a variety of state

Source: Associated Press

Electronic Bingo Machines Leaving

An Expanded Report From The White

report on the causes of the accident does

Judge Finds Ken Feinberg Tied To BP

The Deadline To File Claims Must Be

Federal Officials Say Oil Spill Fines

the separate Natural Resource Damage

The Gulf Coast Claims Facility Has

be accepted. All the while, many of these

The more time passes, the more clear it

A Slick Public Relations Move By BP

vince the American people that the oil

oil spill and has done a good job of taking

Feinberg Claims The Gulf Will Recover

Scientist Finds Gulf Bottom Still Oily

was the equivalent of between 1.5 and 3

Oil Dispersant Lingered In Gulf Long

Lawsuit Says BPs Pursuit Of CostCutting Led To Gulf Spill

Despite repeated guilty pleas, warnings, employee deaths and injuries,

profits and benefits, including salaries,

One Million Fewer People Visited

Millions For Oil Spill Cleanup Owed To

Lawsuit Accuses BP Of Denying Oil

that the program, a joint federal and state

Glaxo Settles Avandia Case

GlaxoSmithKline PLC has settled a

heading to court alleging London-based

specific warning of the risk of TEN.

This is a most significant ruling and

Plaintiff Will Be Allowed To Seek

There are triable issues of fact

Source: Lawyers USA Online

Bradley Davidson has been named by

Republicans Elect A New Leader

the regular session which began this

MADD Needs Our Help In Its Fight

the mandatory use of ignition interlocks

Gov. Bentley Supports Coastal

federal regulations setting vehicle safety

Vacancies Filled On The Criminal